Arkansas has been the only state to implement a work and community engagement requirement (WCER) under a Section 1115 demonstration waiver that operates as a condition of eligibility for Medicaid expansion enrollees. Prior to the halting of the WCER in Arkansas by a federal judge in March 2019, enrollees in Arkansas’s Medicaid expansion program — the Arkansas Works premium assistance program — who were ages 19‒49 and were receiving coverage through individual qualified health plans (QHP) were subject to the WCER. Of those, approximately 100,000 Arkansas Works enrollees ages 30-49 became subject to the WCER in 2018 under the state’s phased implementation approach. By December 2018, there were 18,164 enrollees whose coverage ended due to non-compliance with the WCER. Others met the WCER through work, training, or other qualifying activities, or were exempt from reporting obligations.

Joe Thompson
Presenter

Joseph W. Thompson M.D., M.P.H.

President & CEO, Arkansas Center for Health Improvement; Professor of Pediatrics, UAMS College of Medicine; Professor of Health Policy and Management, UAMS College of Public Health

Dr. Joe Thompson is president and CEO of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement Read Bio