Arkansas

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

Published

1 year 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

Arkansas Bested by Mizzou on Sunday

Published

10 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

It was a tight battle all the way through, but ultimately No. 7 Missouri took down No. 8 Arkansas in Sunday’s SEC dual, 197.425-197.225.

There was plenty for the Gymbacks to be proud of in the meet, starting with the all-around performance of freshman Allison Cucci. She earned a new career high of 39.500, good for the all-around crown and the highest of any freshman in the nation this season. Cucci also tied for first on vault (9.900) and got second on beam (9.925).

Redshirt junior had a fantastic outing as a floor specialist and scored a 9.900 on vault and 9.925 on floor. Both marks were good for a share of first place on the events. Senior Morgan Price earned a big 9.925 at bars anchor, which tied for first on the event.

The last two events of the day kept Arkansas in contention with Mizzou, as the Gymbacks went 49.425 on both floor and beam, the latter a season high.

Bars

After a 9.675 from Joscelyn Roberson in the lead-off spot, Hailey Klein got the Gymbacks on pace again with a 9.875. Avery King made her collegiate debut next and delivered a great 9.825 routine in a last-minute situation. Her fellow freshmen Avalon Campbell and Allison Cucci went next and scored a 9.750 and 9.800, respectively. Morgan Price anchored with the energy Arkansas needed and capped her routine with a stick to score 9.925. Arkansas finished the bars rotation with a 49.175.

Vault

Cami Weaver and Leah Smith opened the vault rotation with Yurchenko fulls, scoring 9.800 and 9.750. Cucci and Klein were the team’s first 1.5s of the day, and the two scored 9.875 and 9.800, respectively. Lauren Williams went 9.875 in the fifth position and Morgan Price earned a 9.850. The Gymbacks scored 49.200 total on vault.

Floor

Arkansas started out floor with a 9.825 from Hailey Klein and a 9.850 from Cami Weaver. Cucci then broke into the 9.900 range with a new career high 9.900 midway through the rotation. Smith went 9.850 in the fourth position, keeping Arkansas on pace. Williams and Roberson closed the rotation strong with scores of 9.925 and 9.900, which pushed the Gymbacks’ floor total to 49.425.

Beam

Madison Gustitus began the beam rotation with a 9.775, and Priscilla Park went 9.875 next for the Gymbacks. Klein concluded her all-around day with a 9.850 on beam midway through the final rotation. Cucci came up next and got a huge 9.925, a new personal best for her. Weaver followed with a 9.875, which brought Roberson up to anchor. She did her usual and scored a 9.900, and Arkansas closed the meet with a 49.425 event score on beam, a new season high.

Up Next

Arkansas returns to Bud Walton Arena for its home finale against No. 1 Oklahoma on Friday, March 6. The meet has been deemed a White Out, and the team is pushing fans to help break the NCAA gymnastics attendance record, which is currently just over 16,000. It will also be Senior Night, honoring a fantastic class of Razorbacks. Action is set for 7:15 p.m. and tickets are available online, by phone, or in person. The meet will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

More Information

Visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Gymnastics. You can also find the Razorbacks on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Gymnastics) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackGym).

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Arkansas

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Arkansas will need more than Robinson’s coerced contribution | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Published

22 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Wally Hall

whall@adgnewsroom.com

Wally Hall is assistant managing sports editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock after an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force, he is a member and past president of the Football Writers Association of America, member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, past president and current executive committee and board member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and voter for the Heisman Trophy. He has been awarded Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year 10 times and has been inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and Arkansas Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.

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Arkansas

Who is Taylen Green? Arkansas QB dazzles with record-setting NFL combine performance

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Who is Taylen Green? Arkansas QB dazzles with record-setting NFL combine performance

Move over, Anthony Richardson. There’s a new quarterback athletic marvel at the NFL scouting combine.

On Saturday in Indianapolis, Arkansas’ Taylen Green broke Richardson’s top marks at the position since 2003 for both the vertical leap and broad jump. Green’s 43½-inch vertical topped Richardson’s previous high by three inches, while his 11-2 broad jump beat the Indianapolis Colts signal-caller’s measurement by five inches.

Then, Green reeled off a 4.36-second 40-yard dash time. That stood as the second-best time for any quarterback since 2003, trailing only Reggie McNeal in 2006 (4.35 seconds). Richardson, for comparison, logged a 4.43-second mark in 2023.

Green didn’t even bother with a second attempt after his initial time.

The testing profile created quite the stir around the 6-6, 227-pound passer, who had widely projected as a developmental option for teams on Day 3.

NFL Network’s Charles Davis said Green told him that no teams had approached him about working out as a receiver, adding that he would not be interested in a position switch.

Green started for the Razorbacks for the last two seasons after playing the first three years of his career at Boise State. Known for his running ability and ample arm strength, Green threw for 2,714 yards and 19 touchdowns last year while adding 777 yards and eight scores on the ground.

It was a banner day for Arkansas, as running back Mike Washington Jr. also stood out among his peers with a group-leading 4.33-second 40-yard dash as well as strong marks in the vertical leap (39 inches) and broad jump (10-8).

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