Arkansas

Activists continue to call for changes to Arkansas Medicaid, allege unfair losses of coverage

Published

2 months ago

September 11, 2024

Activists continue to call for changes to Arkansas Medicaid, allege unfair losses of coverage

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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Arkansas

What TV channel is Arkansas vs Louisiana Tech football on today? Live stream, spread, game odds

Published

40 mins ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

What TV channel is Arkansas vs Louisiana Tech football on today? Live stream, spread, game odds

In the Afternoon slate, the Arkansas Razorbacks host the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in Week 13 nonconference action. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 23 with a live TV broadcast only on ESPN Plus.

• WATCH: Razorback vs. Bulldogs football is streaming live only on ESPN+

This game is a must-win for both teams if either wants to gain bowl eligibility. Arkansas is 5-5, with No. 23 Missouri remaining on its schedule. Louisana Tech is 4-6, with 1-9 Kennesaw State left to play.

What TV channel is Arkansas vs. LA Tech football on today?

When: Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT) on Saturday, November 23

Where: Razorback Stadium | Fayetteville, AR

TV channel: SEC Network Plus on ESPN+ (Not available on traditional broadcast TV, only streaming on ESPN’s live sports streaming platform. Here’s a look at how you can watch ESPN+ live on your TV.)

Watch live stream online: You can watch a live stream of this game for less than $11 on ESPN+ (It’s just $10.99/month or $109.99/full year subscription, and you can cancel anytime.)

What TV channel is SEC Network Plus on?

SEC Network Plus or SECN+ is not a TV channel. It is basically it’s on division within ESPN Plus for SEC games that are not airing on TV, but are SEC games airing exclusively on the ESPN+ streaming platform.

What does SEC Network Plus cost? What does an SECN+ subscription include? SEC Network Plus is a part of ESPN Plus, so as long as you are signed up for ESPN Plus, you will see every SECN+ game available to stream on the watch ESPN app when you sign in or sign up for the ESPN+ service. ESPN+ costs just $10.99/month and you can cancel anytime.

Arkansas vs. Louisiana Tech spread, latest betting odds

Moneyline: ARK -2500 | LT +1100

Spread: ARK -23.5 | LT +23.5

Over/Under: 48.5

Get promo codes, signup deals and free bets from our Oregon Betting News home page.

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Arkansas

Steals, slams winning combo for Hoop Hogs against Little Rock

Published

9 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Steals, slams winning combo for Hoop Hogs against Little Rock

Behind a fully-torqued defensive effort, the No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1) claimed victory 79-67 over the Little Rock Trojans inside Bud Walton Arena on Friday night in Fayetteville.

Arkansas’ intensity was evident at the get-go, as head coach John Calipari’s club ripped off five steals on Little Rock’s first five possessions, good enough to hand the Hoop Hogs a quick 11-0 advantage.

That pressure never relented in the first half, as the Razorbacks had eight steals and nine forced turnovers at the under-8 mark, and 10 steals and 11 forced turnovers by halftime.

“That first five or six minutes of the game we were a deer in headlights,” Little Rock head coach Darrell Walker, a former Razorback, said postgame. “We were terrified for no reason. We turned the ball over. Now, they got 19 turnovers. We turned the ball over 19 times and they got 28 points off of that. I told my team before the game, ‘We cannot have a lot of turnovers. If you do, this team is really good in the open court. You put them in half court you’re going to have a chance to get in the game.’”

Leading the way for most hands in the cookie jar was forward Adou Thiero (six steals), though five Razorbacks recorded at least one steal and four Hogs totaled 2+ steals.

“The biggest plays were effort plays,” Calipari said of Thiero. “Those were the biggest plays he made. He had six steals — all effort steals. Just he out-worked the other guy to get the ball.”

As a result of the defensive ferocity, Arkansas pushed the pace in transition to the tune of 22 fastbreak points, 28 points off turnovers and five slams through both halves.

“From watching all the film of all the games they’ve played, I knew this was going to be an off-the-dribble game,” Walker said. “And when they shoot the ball well they can become dangerous. But they really an off-the-dribble team and a transition team right now. I’m sure Cal is still trying to figure things out. This is early in the season, just like I’m trying to figure things out with my basketball team. He’s got some key guys hurt.”

One can’t mention Arkansas’ up-and-down court explosion without further crediting Thiero, who racked up a team-high 23 points, a team-high eight rebounds, two blocks and pulled off an immaculate left-handed windmill transition dunk.

“There was a will to win,” Calipari said. “I don’t care who it’s against. When a game gets like that, that stuff was on us, and Adou making that play on the offensive rebound, again, he’s standing out how he’s playing. He’s getting it done.”

Up next, Arkansas will close its home-stand with a matchup against Maryland-Eastern Shore on Monday. That game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. CT and will stream on SEC Network+.

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Arkansas basketball vs Little Rock score today: Live updates, game highlights, how to watch

Published

17 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

Arkansas basketball vs Little Rock score today: Live updates, game highlights, how to watch

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas basketball will welcome one of the best players in program history back to Bud Walton Arena tonight.

The No. 24 Razorbacks (3-1) will host Little Rock (3-2) Friday. The Trojans are coached by Darrell Walker, who was a consensus All-American for the Razorbacks in 1983 and is a member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame and the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor.

The Hogs are in the midst of a four-game homestand and are coming off a 91-72 victory over Pacific Monday. They’ve been stingy through the early portion of the season and rank 10th in the nation in KenPom’s defensive efficiency metric.

This will be just the second meeting between the two Natural State programs. Arkansas won 93-78 in 2021, and the Trojans are coming off a road victory over Tulsa in their most recent contest.

Below are live score updates, highlights and other notes from Arkansas basketball’s fifth game of the season.

Arkansas basketball vs. Little Rock score updates

This section will be updated when the game begins.

What time does Arkansas vs. Little Rock play today?

Date: Friday, Nov. 22
Time: 8 p.m. CT
Location: Fayetteville

What channel is Arkansas vs. Little Rock game on today?

TV channel: SEC Network
Streaming: FUBO (Free Trial), ESPN+

Arkansas vs. Little Rock live stream options

Arkansas vs. Little Rock will be broadcast on SEC Network. The matchup can also be streamed with a subscription to FUBO, which has the option for a free trial, and ESPN+, which includes ESPNU and all other ESPN channels.

Arkansas vs. Little Rock prediction

Arkansas 79, Little Rock 63: This game could follow a familiar theme to earlier home games, with a mid-major squad staying close thanks to 3-pointers, but Arkansas’ talent eventually wearing out the opposition. A blowout is more likely if one of Trevon Brazile or Jonas Aidoo returns to the floor for the Hogs.

Arkansas vs. Little Rock betting odds

Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Friday morning:

Spread: Arkansas -20.5
Over/under: 143.5
Moneyline: Little Rock +1250

Arkansas basketball schedule

Record: 3-1

(Next five games)

Little Rock, Nov. 22
Maryland Eastern Shore, Nov. 25
Illinois (Kansas City), Nov. 28
at Miami, Dec. 3
UTSA, Dec. 7

Little Rock schedule

Record: 3-2

(Next five games)

at Arkansas, Nov. 22
at Illinois, Nov. 25
Maryland Eastern Shore, Nov. 27
Central Arkansas, Dec. 4
Ouachita Baptist University, Dec. 10

Arkansas basketball news

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