The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society Issue 12 Vol 114 | Page 9

Beyond this, it’s always helpful to remind pa- tients to stay in touch with their health care plan. Arkansas Works is part of Medicaid, and Medicaid patients are expected to keep in touch with changes that may affect their medical care. “Most importantly,” noted Franklin, “please direct individuals who need help finding a job or job training to the Department of Workforce Ser- vices. DWS is a vital resource for beneficiaries to comply with work and community engagement requirements.” Again, the Arkansas Works sharepoint site por- tal is an exhaustive source of information. It includes links to informational videos, information on setting up an email account, linking the email address to an online account, linking an online account to its as- sociated health care plan, logging work or other ap- proved “engagement,” a list of exemptions, where to access a computer, job search and job training assis- tance, transportation assistance information, what qualifies as approved volunteer work, and more. “We don’t want people to lose coverage,” stressed Franklin. “We encourage people to be in the habit of staying in touch and reporting any changes in their status. They can take care of that on the on- line portal, which is user friendly and mobile device friendly. Anywhere you have access to the internet, you can access the portal. You don’t have to be in a DHS office to access the portal, but we do have computers available in our lobby and staff members available to assist you. We want members to have access to good health care. We at DHS, along with the carriers that offer our plan and the Department of Workforce Services, are all here to help.” Learn More For more information on Arkansas Works and full description of the new work requirement and how to make sure you or your patients understand its effects on health care coverage, visit the DHS public-facing share site at ardhs.sharepointsite. net/ARWorks/default.aspx. From there, you can also visit the Arkansas Work Online Portal at https:// access.arkansas.gov/Welcome.aspx. You may also feel free to call Mary Franklin at [phone] or email [email protected]. *According to Franklin, when Arkansas Works leg- islation first passed, it included a requirement for DHS to send recipients with income 50% or less than the federal poverty level a referral to the Ar- kansas Department of Workforce Services for job search and job training opportunities. DHS sent referrals to all members. There was not a require- ment (in that first legislation) for recipients to follow through with DWS or otherwise show work. **Access Arkansas – https://access.arkansas.gov/ Welcome.aspx DHS Creates New Processes as Part of Work Requirement Launch B eneficiaries need to cre- ate online accounts at access.arkansas.gov to report work activities. As the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) prepares to implement the Ar- kansas Works work and community engage- ment requirement June 1, the agency is rolling out new efforts to help beneficiaries get ready for the changes. “It’s important to us that people have a clear understanding of what is expected of them once the work requirement is live and they have the support they need,” said DHS Director Cindy Gillespie. “We especially wanted to take steps to address potential barriers to reporting work activities, such as a lack of reading skills and lack of home access to the Internet.” To address literacy issues, DHS has cre- ated a process that allows beneficiaries to designate a trusted individual or organization to help them report their work activities or exemp- tions just as they would today with family, insur- ance carriers, and hospital financial staff when applying for Arkansas Works. The designated person will be called a registered reporter and will be required to complete a short online train- ing that explains what information is required, how often work activities/exemptions need to be reported, and the importance of keeping people’s information confidential. For in-person assistance from DHS, beneficiaries can go to their local county offices. Through a contract with the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC), DHS also will help people over the phone who need help creating their online accounts at www.access. arkansas.gov and linking their accounts to their Arkansas Works coverage. It is important that beneficiaries create and link their online ac- count because that account is the only way they can report their work activities. This week, at the request of DHS, AFMC began proactively calling beneficiaries who will be subject t o the work requirement June 1. The caller’s goal is to make sure beneficiaries understand what they need to do to comply with the new work requirement, and to ensure that they have a current email and mailing address on file. The caller may ask beneficiaries to confirm their email addresses, but AFMC will never ask for protected information such as social secu- rity or Medicaid numbers or any passwords. In 2018, Arkansas Works beneficiaries who are 30-49 years old will be subject to the work and community engagement requirement unless they are pregnant, disabled, already working 80 hours a month, or have some other exemption. DHS will begin rolling beneficiaries into the requirement several thousand people at a time between June and September. Benefi- ciaries who will be subject to the work require- ment June 1 will get a letter next week notifying them of their status. DHS also mailed letters to all Arkansas Works beneficiaries between the ages of 30 and 49, regardless of their work requirement status, that included a list of at least two sites in every county that have free Internet-accessible computers for use. All DHS county offices have a computer available for use. To learn more visit www.access.arkansas. gov where you can watch a DHS video for step- by-step instructions or find guides that will walk you through the process. More information about Arkansas Works can also be found on the DHS home page by clicking the “Arkansas Works” button on the right-hand side of the page at www.humanser- vices.arkansas.gov. NUMBER 12 JUNE 2018 • 273