Thousands of ‘Arkansas Works’ recipients did not meet work requirements in January, which could leave them without health benefits in the future.

The Arkansas Department of Human Services (ADHS) recently announced that just under 9,000 ‘Arkansas Works’ recipients had not complied to work requirements as of last week. 

Last June, Arkansas became the first state to implement a work requirement in its ‘Arkansas Works Medicaid’ program.

Unless you’re exempt, enrollees must report 80 hours of work or other qualifying activities each month to the ADHS.

The state phased in the requirement last year for enrollees ages 30 to 49, and now in 2019, enrollees ages 19 to 29 will have to do the same.

“It accomplishes continued healthcare coverage for that individual,” Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said. “It accomplishes savings to the state, and it accomplishes a continued encouragement and incentive to move up the economic ladder.”

In 2018, over 18,000 enrollees lost coverage for failing to meet the requirement.