Little Rock – The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) will hold a series of town halls beginning this month to educate beneficiaries on the upcoming ARHome Community Engagement and Work Requirement.

These town halls, which are scheduled in Little Rock, Jonesboro, Fort Smith, Crossett, and Hope, are designed to provide an overview of the new requirement and an opportunity for beneficiaries to ask questions. The town halls are free to attend, and full details are included in the flyer below.

“We are looking forward to sharing information about our program at each of these stops, and to visiting in-person with individuals who may be subject to this new requirement,” said Mary Franklin, Director of the DHS Division of County Operations. “Our primary goal is to connect with beneficiaries to ensure that they are fully aware of and prepared for the changes that are coming.”

The requirement will apply to Arkansans aged 19 to 64 enrolled in ARHOME unless they are in an exempt category like pregnant and postpartum women, disabled veterans, caregivers, and those with special medical needs. Nearly 214,000 Arkansans were enrolled in ARHOME as of April 1.

Under a soft implementation starting on July 1, DHS will begin running automated processes to determine if beneficiaries are exempt, meeting, or not meeting the requirement, but no penalties will be in place until the requirement fully launches on Jan. 1, 2027. At that time, beneficiaries who do not meet the requirement will have 30 days to show compliance before their Medicaid benefits are suspended.

Once the full requirement is in effect, DHS will first attempt to confirm compliance through automated checks. DHS is in the process of procuring a vendor for a customer service center that will perform outbound calls to verify work requirement status when the automated processes do not confirm it. That vendor will begin reaching out to beneficiaries in December leading up to the full launch of the program, and beneficiaries will also be able to report activities by phone, online, or at their local DHS county office.

“Finding a job and a career can bring dignity, meaning, and economic independence, greatly improving a person’s life,” Franklin said. “But we know that a job search can also take time. That’s why we’re engaging beneficiaries now, ahead of our soft launch on July 1, and more than six months before the full launch next year, to give beneficiaries who are not exempt ample time to be ready to meet the requirement.”

DHS is continuing to develop the rules and processes that will drive the new requirement, and some aspects of the program will be finalized closer to the full launch. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is expected to issue additional guidance to states by June, which may lead to some changes.

DHS will communicate updates to beneficiaries through a variety of methods in the coming weeks and months. For beneficiaries to receive important program information, they should ensure their mailing address, phone, and email are up-to-date, and they can sign up for email and text alerts in addition to mailed notices online through Access.Arkansas.gov. Additional details about updating contact information are posted at ar.gov/update.

For more information about the program, visit ar.gov/engage.