Organizers with Arkansas Community Organizations hold up signs advocating for better Medicaid coverage outside Jefferson County’s Department of Human Services office in Pine Bluff on Tuesday. (Photo by Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)
Arkansas Medicaid recipients and advocates repeated their ongoing messages that the state Department of Human Services should provide broader Medicaid coverage and process applications more efficiently at a Tuesday demonstration outside DHS’ Jefferson County office.
Arkansas Community Organizations, the group behind the protest, has continually emphasized the benefits of the federally-funded health insurance program and the struggles low-income Arkansans face when they cannot afford health care or get on Medicaid quickly. On Tuesday, the group added a new message: that DHS employees are overworked and under-supported.
“When you walk into DHS, prepare to take a number and sit for a long time,” Medicaid recipient William Gerard said. “There might be two workers at four windows and not enough [support] to serve their caseload.”
Cathy Young of Pine Bluff and Be’Atte Martin of Little Rock both said they did not receive notification from DHS when the agency changed their Medicaid coverage plans.
Notifications might not reach people in the mail through no fault of their own, and sometimes DHS implements multiple changes before a Medicaid client gets notice of the first one, said Brainard Bivens, who worked at the Jefferson County DHS office from 1995 to 2017.
“They have to make a determination [of eligibility] within a certain amount of time, and a lot of time they cannot make determinations because of — what’s the chronic thing? ‘Not enough information. We didn’t get the information,’” Bivens said.
DHS spent six months in 2023 reviewing the eligibility of Medicaid recipients whose coverage was extended for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, even if they no longer qualified for benefits because of income or other eligibility limits.
More than 184,500 of the roughly 420,000 Arkansans who retained coverage during the extension were disenrolled between April 1 and Sept. 30 because they did not provide necessary eligibility information, according to DHS data.
Arkansas Community Organizations held several protests last year, asserting DHS did not do enough to ensure people were ineligible before cutting their Medicaid coverage. Most states had a full year to conduct the “unwinding” of the coverage extension, but Arkansas had six months, as required by a 2021 state law. State officials have defended the unwinding process.
The most recent protest before Tuesday was in May outside DHS headquarters in Little Rock, in response to a Georgetown University report released earlier that month. Arkansas had the tenth-largest decrease in the number of children enrolled in Medicaid at the end of 2023 than before the pandemic began in 2020, the report stated.
Martin said Tuesday that she lost coverage in August 2023 despite still being eligible, and she then lost both Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits and her caregiver for her health issues.
She regained coverage for Medicaid but not for SNAP, she said, and DHS did not receive 76 documents she submitted proving her eligibility for benefits.
Martin received SNAP and Medicaid in Oklahoma within a week of moving there earlier this year, but she was unable to find housing, she said, so she left in August in order for her children to go back to school in Little Rock, and the family remains homeless.
“Now that I’m back in Arkansas, I’m being forced to go through all the hoops with DHS again to receive the benefits that I’m entitled to,” Martin said.
Arkansas Community Organizations is planning two more demonstrations in October, organizers Neil Sealy and Al Allen said.
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The world of college athletics has taken a turn in recent years, moving past grades and scholarship money. Now it’s about what schools can do for the student athletes outside of that.
Name, image and likeness (NIL) rules changed the game, leaving a big question for college sports fans from the Natural State – how do we get the best athletes to play in Arkansas?
Money is one answer is, of course, and an idea generating a stir online and around the state is how can the three casinos in Arkansas play a role in changing the game.
Sam Pittman talks NIL as it relates to Arkansas
A proposal by Saracen Casino and Resort in Jefferson County would generate NIL money through online 50/50 drawing at any college sporting event, which the casino estimates could majorly impact NIL funds each week.
“So, a 50/50 drawing works like this. You purchase an entry, a ticket, you’re in the pot,” Saracen chief marketing officer Carlton Saffa explained. “The pot grows with the more entries, 50% of it goes to the winning number 50% of it goes to the winning cause. In this instance the cause would be the NIL collective.”
The Saracen executive is going all in on the idea of allowing fans to enter this kind of raffle online and through apps, but that kind of play would require a change in Arkansas law.
Currently, state regulations allow for mobile gambling on horse races & sporting events but not games of chance. That means people can’t currently play slots, blackjack or other similar games on their phones.
Unintended consequences: How NIL in college sports has raised questions about nonprofits
Saffa claims a move to set up this kind of 50/50 raffle could have a deeper impact in the state than just NIL money. He believes that allowing online games of chance for in-state casinos would stop offshore casinos from offering the same games illegally.
“(The change to state law) is a change that allows games of chance and specifically includes NIL 50/50 drawings. We can’t do those drawings for the NIL without the permission on games of chance,” Saffa said. “The NIL is simply the bonus because the problem is a $5 billion a year illegal gambling number that we’re wrestling with.”
Saffa also noted that the casino makes no money off of the raffle.
While executives with Saracen say state-approved online gaming would cause illegal companies to leave, Saracen isn’t the only casino in Arkansas.
Boosters and collectives would be targeted by mandatory disclosure of NIL deals. Is that legal?
Oaklawn Racing Resort and Casino’s general manager Wayne Smith says there are other ways to kick out illegal gambling companies and support NIL efforts without legalizing iGaming.
“We just believe it is a bad policy to be able to put in the hands of every adult in the state of Arkansas a mini casino,” he told KARK 4 News.
Smith noted that it is not an issue of not having the technology, saying Oaklawn could roll it out a few months after possible legalization. Saracen managers said that their casino is also prepared to roll it out as soon as it’s legal.
Instead, Smith points to the efforts of his team to make Oaklawn more of a destination experience, noting that online gaming could take traveling off the table for some players.
“They’re not going to come to our casinos,” the GM said. “They’re going to sit at home and play, they’re not going to go to our restaurant, they’re not going to go to retail shops. So the sales tax dollars in all of these communities surround the state are going to be impacted.”
NIL: Right or wrong there is a need for an upgrade?
Oaklawn is all in for NIL funding, donating $500,000 for the university to use for NIL efforts a few weeks ago, but Smith believes that iGaming and NIL don’t need to be combined.
“But the NIL piece, we’ll have all the conversations in the world in regards to that because we believe in that and we’ve shown that we believe it in because we gave money to it,” he said. “Don’t tie the two together, separate, let’s have the NIL, get rid of the iGaming.”
While Saffa and Smith may hold different opinions on iGaming being written into Arkansas law, the pair agree that illegal gaming is happening in the state.
“The solution is a change of Rule 5 in the Arkansas Racing Commission to allow games of chance,” Saffa contended. “It would generate $20 million in taxes the first year, protect children and allow casinos licenses to do what illegal offshore guys are doing now.”
“We do agree that we don’t want to compete against them (illegal gaming companies), so it would be best that we get them out,” Smith countered. “We just don’t believe that you should now come in because they are here & that means that we should have a regulated version of that.
NCAA blocks Oklahoma State from wearing QR codes for NIL fund on helmets, saying decals break rule
KARK 4 News reached out to the Department of Finance and Administration about this entire discussion, and in a statement noted a rule change was not under consideration at this time.
“While there is public discussion regarding a raffle/online gaming, the Racing Commission is not currently considering it. The only way to place a legal wager in Arkansas is at one of the state’s three casinos (or through their sports betting apps) or buying a ticket from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. Anything beyond that is not a legal wager. We are unable to speculate regarding the specifics of ideas being discussed.”
The agency did not provide any other details on what steps would have to happen to allow for iGaming or an NIL raffle. KARK 4 News also asked for details about illegal gambling in the state and has not heard back from the agency.
Saffa and Smith say a move to legalize such efforts would require the Arkansas Racing Commission to vote to approve it. Smith added that Oaklawn is not the reason this concept is being held up but that it all comes down to what commissioners vote to do.
Gaining the Edge: An in-depth look at NIL and Arkansas Edge
KARK 4 News also reached out to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office for a comment on the idea of raising NIL money through an online 50/50 raffle.
“Under current law, the state doesn’t have the authority to enact this proposal,” a spokesperson for Sanders wrote in a statement. “The Governor is working with stakeholders to navigate the broken NIL system and support our teams and student athletes.”
KARK 4 News also reached out to a number of schools, including the University of Arkansas, UA Pine Bluff, Arkansas State and University of Central Arkansas about the idea of a 50/50 NIL raffle.
The University of Arkansas shared a response stressing the importance of NIL funding for student athletes.
“Online gaming regulations in Arkansas are under the purview of state officials and the university has not taken a position on such rules. However, I want to make clear that university officials have not and would not suggest that our student athletes do not need support from Name, Image and Likeness funds,” the statement read. “NIL support is crucial to the success of our student athletes and athletic programs, and the university encourages state authorized avenues for raising such support for our student athletes.”
KARK 4 News has not yet received a response from the other universities.
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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
After a solid opening week, we had more exciting games Week 1.
The Top 10 showdown between Conway and Bentonville turned out to be uneventful this time as the Wampus Cats blew out the Tigers. They dropped a spot. Harding Academy was the only team to leave the Top 10 after losing handily to Marion, but the successful new 5A program didn’t drop far.
Fort Smith Southside moved to No. 10 and Marion is just outside, moving up a handful of notches after the win over the Wildcats.
Jonesboro is the first team to drop out of the Top 25 after losses to Conway and Joe T. Robinson.
Below are this week’s SBLive/SI Arkansas Top 25 football rankings.
In the closest first half they’ve played in a while, the Patriots were only up 9-0 at halftime and carried that lead for a portion of the third quarter. However, Parkview forced turnovers and a short field to fuel a 51-6 rout. Monterrio Elston scored twice and accumulated more than 130 yards of offense. Parkview plays its first home game of the young season Friday as they entertain No. 3 Bryant at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium. This game has been anticipated for a year after the Patriots beat Bryant to snap its 54-game winning streak last fall.
The Bulldogs hung on against Tulsa, Okla.-area school Broken Arrow, 30-23. FHS plays its first home game against Texas (Texarkana) High Friday night.
After trailing to Benton in the Salt Bowl in the third quarter, the Hornets made quick work of one of Missouri’s top big-school teams in Christian Brothers College. The Hornets led 21-0 in the first quarter and 28-0 in the second quarter before rolling 42-20. BHS senior QB Jordan Walker, a Ouachita Baptist commit, had another solid game. The Hornets head back to War Memorial Stadium, the site of the Salt Bowl opener, to play explosive No. 1 Little Rock Parkview.
The Bulldogs smacked yet another 7A-West foe and will try to make it a triple at home Friday night against Springdale Har-Ber. The Bulldogs ran by Bentonville West 70-35 and took down Fort Smith Northside 56-0 last week. Har-Ber gave up 50 points to winless Class 5A Farmington last week and travels to Greenwood to face its explsosive offense.
In what was supposed to be a 7A showdown, the Wampus Cats rolled over Betonville, 55-21. CHS transfer QB Grayson Wilson, a University of Arkansas commit, passed for 328 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. The Wampus Cats welcome 6A contender Marion Friday night.
For the second straight season, the Bruins knocked off Mississippi private-school power Madison Ridgeland Academy. PA, who routed MRA 60-36, plays host to West Monroe, La (1-1), Friday night.
The Tigers were blitzed by Conway on the road after losing a tight overtime decision to Tulsa Union in Oklahoma the week before. Bentonville will have a week to recover, finishing the nonconference slate next week at Lee’s Summit North in the Kansas City, Mo., metro area.
After a 52-42 loss to Bryant, the Panthers look to rebound against a struggling 7A North Little Rock program. Benton had the bye week to eliminate mistakes after committing seven turnovers in the opener.
The Saints invaded west Little Rock for the second year in a row and knocked off Little Rock Christian. The Saints escaped with a 44-40 win. Receiver Chandler Kemp scored on a TD catch with two minutes to go to take the lead for good. The Saints look to avenge a 20-14 loss to Lincoln Christian last year on the road this week. It is Shiloh’s final game before it opens the conference season against Greenwood.
The Mavericks were off last week after a 34-27 win against city rival Northside in the opener. Rounding out the nonconference slate with 7A-Central doormats Little Rock Central and Little Rock Southwest in back-to-back weeks, Southside will be heavily favored.
The Patriots beat 5A-East members Wynne and Harding Academy in back-to-back weeks. The 37-7 victory over the Wildcats was impressive since they are expected to contend for a 5A state title. However, Marion will step up its competition this week playing at No. 5 Conway. This game will be a good barometer at how good the Patriots are as Conway has started the season strong with blowout of Bentonville.
Some were surprised by the Wildcats’ 37-7 loss to Marion in its opener, even though Marion is a 6A program. That is how much respect the Wildcats command. Harding will be a heavy favorite against Class 4A Central Arkansas Christian this week before traveling to 6A juggernaut Benton to round out nonconference play.
LRCA nearly pulled out the win over Shiloh, giving up the passing TD late. The Warriors will have to wait until next week to get the taste out of their mouth as they play West Memphis.
The Panthers came back to knock off Bentonville West, 44-38 in overtime, after being blowing out by Fayetteville in the opener at home. Running back Keegan Vest scored the game-winning TD after the Panthers ran the ball three straight times in OT. The Panthers hit the road again to play Ruston, La., this Friday.
The season has been a rough one for the Wolverines so far. In the opener, they gave up 70 points in a home loss to Greenwood, and then gave up a late lead to Cabot and lost in overtime. It doesn’t get easier this week as West travels to play Muskogee, Okla., to play the defending 6A Division II Oklahoma state champions. The Roughers (2-0) edged the Wolverines’ 7A-West rival Rogers, 33-28 last Friday.
The Bombers dominated Class 5A Harrison, 30-14, in their annual rivalry game. They should be 3-0 after this week hosting Rolla, Missouri. Bombers’ head coach Steve Ary has improved the Mountain Home program and that means being competitive in the nonconference slate.
The Sting of a 39-34 loss to cross-town rival Hot Springs Lakeside was softened by a 49-0 blowout of Little Rock Southwest. A game at Class 4A power Arkadelphia awaits this week before a bye week and the 6A-West Conference slate.
The Rockets were off last week and try to move to 2-0 against undefeated Nolan (Texas) Catholic Saturday. The two parochial schools meet as a part of Catholic Bowl IV, which features tripleheader including six Catholic Schools. Games are being played at The Ford Center – the Dallas Cowboys practice facility in Frisco. This game is a rematch of the inaugural game in which the Rockets won, 36-34.
The Senators opened the season with a road loss to Pulaski Academy Week 0 but recorded a big win at Class 6A Jonesboro last week. On Friday, they play Hot Springs Lakeside in one of the premier matchups of the week.
The Blazers are off to a fast start with wins over Poplar Bluff (Mo.) and Searcy, respectively. Senior Drew Gartman, who slid over to QB from receiver, ran for four touchdowns and passed for two against the Lions. The wins should continue as struggling West Memphis is next.
The Rams burst into the rankings after taking care of county rival Lake Hamilton Week 0, and then hammering Sheridan and new head coach Kevin Kelley last week. The Rams travel to Pulaski County to take on Joe T. Robinson in a battle of ranked teams and two 5A programs poised for deep playoff runs.
The Hornets played with Parkview for more than a half. The defense held Parkview to three field goals, but then the Patriots enjoyed a couple of short-field drives and blew it open 51-6. Maumelle looks to get back on the winning track at Vilonia.
The Z’s have one of the tougher schedules in the state with playing Oklahoma City (Okla.) Millwood (14-0 loss) in the Dallas area Week 0, and then losing to Dallas Kimball, 35-6. Pine Bluff entertains Camden Fairview this week seeking its first win.
Lumberjacks QB Jackson Denton was injured in a loss to Greenbrier, but it didn’t slow Warren down last week in a 46-14 win over White Hall. Cam Burks subbed in for the sophomore and passed for 191 yards and four TDs. Warren plays Elkins at Arkansas Tech in Russellville Friday night. It’s a potential state-championship game preview.
The Curley Wolves outlasted fellow Class 3A power Salem, 31-22, at Hendrix College in Conway. The Curley Wolves have this week off before playing area rival Hope next week.
On today’s podcast, Matt Jones discusses Arkansas football with Tom Murphy, Razorbacks soccer and men’s basketball with Anthony Kristensen, and looks ahead to the Arkansas-UAB football game with Blazers offensive coordinator and former Razorback quarterback Alex Mortensen.
To view yesterday’s podcast with the Tulsa World’s Berry Tramel, go here.
You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple, Spotify or YouTube. It publishes each weekday.
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