Arkansas officials expect delay in enacting Medicaid changes

(AP) _ Arkansas officials are anticipating a delay in implementing state-sought changes to its expanded Medicaid program due to federal approval taking longer than expected.A spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Human Services says the department would need 60 days to implement the changes after they’ve been approved.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that those changes include moving about 60,000 people off the program by restricting eligibility to people with incomes of up to 100 percent of the poverty level. The changes will need to be approved by Thursday for implementation by Jan. 1.

Bradford Nye is the department’s director of policy development. He says if federal officials require changes to the state’s plans, then the department could restart the rule-making process.

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