Arkansas’s rate of uninsured kids held steady in pandemic

Joan Alker, executive director, Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, says when the federal public health protections lift next year, it will be important to make sure the numbers do not start going in the wrong direction.

"Their uninsured rate was 5.8 percent of children uninsured in 2021; they rank 34th in the country, so they've fallen back a little bit over the years. You know, Arkansas, we haven't seen them make as much progress in recent years," Alker said.

The report said last year, about 43,000 children in Arkansas had no health coverage, and Alker suggested governors make a commitment to be sure any eligible children do not become uninsured when the public health emergency officially ends in April. She recommended families make sure their contact information is up-to-date and check all email received from their Medicaid provider.

Loretta Alexander, health policy director, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, said most kids have insurance through the state program known as "ARKids First," which covers more than 400,000 children based on their family income. Alexander said her organization and others are working on outreach efforts to make people aware of their options and resources to keep their coverage when the public health emergency ends.

"One of our major focus areas this year is just awareness and advocacy, mainly for Medicaid changes, to try to impact and make sure that kids stay covered, by not 'churning' on and off," Alexander said.

She added it is critically important for families to remain covered – not only for better health, but to protect against the financial hardships of having health problems. She recommended parents visit the health care marketplace website – myarinsurance.com – to check their eligibility for coverage, as the sign-up deadline isn't until January.