Arkansas Approves $48M Contract for Medicaid Call Center
The Arkansas Legislative Council approved a three-year, $48 million contract with the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care to build a customer service center fielding questions about Medicaid, SNAP and other Department of Human Services programs. The center will launch with questions about the state's Medicaid expansion program before phasing in other programs monthly, with Division of Children and Family Services questions not covered until a possible fourth year. The agency has sought a vendor for about three years to consolidate what officials described as an uncoordinated system of multiple phone numbers and mailboxes across county offices. The contract comes as Medicaid and SNAP cuts under the 2025 federal budget law take effect January 1, and as Arkansas awaits formal word on the Trump administration's denial of a five-year extension of its Medicaid expansion program.