Arkansas Families Press Lawmakers to Speed Disability Waiver Waitlist Fix
Families of Arkansans with disabilities testified before House and Senate committees urging faster relief for nearly 2,500 people on the Community and Employment Services Medicaid waiver waitlist, saying the state's planned 2027 timeline is too slow. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and DHS announced in September a roughly $17 million plan to have the managed-care Medicaid program begin covering non-medical in-home supportive living services by January, one of four services currently excluded for waitlisted families. DHS officials said the waitlist has ballooned because the agency's IT systems cannot keep pace with 400-500 annual applications, and the state must show CMS that home-based care saves money versus institutionalization. DHS plans to seek legislative approval this month for a customer-service vendor contract to streamline beneficiary access.