Our View

Our View

Changes aimed at making DHS a lesser burden on state budget

At no time in recent memory has Arkansas’ largest and most expensive state agency — the Department of Human Services — been managed so well, thanks in large part to its director, Cindy Gillespie, who was brought in under Gov. Asa Hutchinson administration to oversee major and much needed changes.

Gillespie, who replaced outgoing DHS director John Selig on March 1, 2016, was tapped for the job of overhauling the state’s then troubled DHS and overseeing its massive services, including the implementation of the state’s form of Obamacare. She is now being credited for containing costs and eliminating waste in state government.

One of the biggest challenges Gillespie took on when she became director was cleaning up the mess left behind by her predecessor as it related to the managing the over 300,000 Arkansans eligible for government assisted Medicaid.

When DHS took on the task of signing up applicants and filtering out those who were qualified and those who weren’t it was anticipated at the time there would be about 230,00 Arkansans seeking free medical coverage.

The bureaucrats within DHS failed to anticipate the actual number of Arkansans wanting this government subsidy which now exceeds over 300,000. One of the many problems DHS had in setting up the Medicaid program was actually knowing who was eligible and who wasn’t.

Gillespie, who has nationally recognized expertise in the reform of Medicaid and has extensive experience in managing complex programs, just recently announced enrollment in the state’s Medicaid expansion program, known as Arkansas Works, fell by about 2,900 people in November to just under 307,000.

Also, eligibility verification efforts under Gillespie’s watchful eye have resulted in the removal of about 73,000 people from the program since the beginning of 2017.

What we’re told is those measures include eliminating coverage when mail sent to an enrollee’s address is returned, identifying enrollees who are receiving public benefits in more than one state and rechecking the incomes of enrollees when they start new job, steps that were poorly taken in the past.

Furthermore, we’re told another 7,198 Arkansas Works enrollees are set to lose coverage Jan. 1 after the Human Services Department received information indicting they are eligible for Medicare, the federal insurance program for the elderly and disabled.

As expected, Hutchinson praised the DHS director and said, “her team combined common-sense technology to reduce the state’s load by 80,000 cases.” He went on to say DHS is among state agencies that are leading by example. While Medicaid oversight is a massive undertaking, Gillespie is credited with the creation of central offices in a major restructuring move she said is making the agency “stronger and more nimble.”

The new structure is composed of seven “shared services” offices that will be led by chief officers who report directly to Gillespie. Those offices include finance, procurement, information technology, human resources, communications and community engagement, legislative and inter-governmental affairs, and chief counsel.

The advances and improvements within the DHS to make the agency more efficient and effective are having a major impact on the services DHS provides, particularly when it comes to the state’s Medicaid program.