Huckabee Sanders picks fight with Biden HHS director in 'unprecedented' push to kick kids off Medicaid

In a combative tweet posted on Monday, December 18, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders angrily accused the Biden Administration of a "politically motivated PR stunt" with Medicaid.

Xavier Becerra, President Joe Biden's Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, had sent Sanders a letter urging her to make sure Arkansas children remain insured via Medicaid. Sanders, in response, tweeted, "Arkansas is in compliance with state and federal law, while Biden plays politics at Christmas."

But according to the Arkansas Times' Benjamin Hardy, Sanders "has overseen an unprecedented shift" in the "percentage of Arkansas children with health insurance."

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Hardy, in a report published on December 18, explains, "Some 78,500 Arkansas children lost Medicaid coverage between March and September, according to a presentation shared…. by federal officials — an 18 percent decline over a seven-month period. Almost every state is removing enrollees from Medicaid, both children and adults, because of recent changes in the safety net program. But few states have been as harsh as Arkansas, which is among the top five in terms of both percentage decline in child Medicaid coverage and change in absolute enrollment numbers."

Becerra, Hardy notes, told Sanders he is "deeply alarmed" by that 18 percent decrease.

In a separate article published on December 18, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette's Alex Thomas points out that Arkansas isn't the only state HHS has contacted about Medicaid and health insurance for children.

Thomas reports, "The federal agency also sent letters to leaders in Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas, noting Arkansas and these eight other states 'account for about 60 percent of the decline in children's Medicaid and CHIP enrollment from March through September 2023.' Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Oregon, New York and the District of Columbia are the only places with increased enrollment."

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Read the Arkansas Times' full report at this link and the Arkansas Democrat Gazette's coverage here.