Arkansas lawmakers have approved a three-year, $48 million contract with the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care to create a centralized service center addressing resident questions about Medicaid, nutrition assistance programs, and other state services. The decision, reached Friday by the Legislative Council, is intended to streamline communication and ease public frustrations surrounding access to state support.
The service center will initially focus on inquiries related to the state’s Medicaid expansion program, according to Melissa Weatherton, director of Specialty Medicaid Services for the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS). Over the months, the center’s scope will broaden to include other DHS programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), she informed lawmakers earlier this week.
"We receive a very high volume of calls and complaints, as you can imagine,” Weatherton told the Legislative Council’s Review subcommittee Monday. "We’re operating multiple phone numbers, multiple mailboxes across our county offices, getting calls at each one of our divisions. We do not have a coordinated system in place to be able to take those calls, track those calls, and give accurate, quick information across multiple programs."
Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP are scheduled to begin on January 1, following enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a federal budget law passed earlier this year. Weatherton described the planned service center as a "one-stop shop" to alleviate pressure on both the public and DHS staff. She added that the state has worked toward establishing such a center for three years.
The center will not be immediately equipped to answer questions related to the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Weatherton stated those services would be incorporated only if the contract is renewed for a fourth year.
The approval comes amid uncertainty about the future of Arkansas’s Medicaid program. In July, the Trump administration denied Arkansas’s request for a five-year extension of its Medicaid expansion initiative. The state responded in August by seeking a two-year reprieve to continue coverage for recipients while developing a revised program. However, DHS spokesperson Gavin Lesnick said on Friday that the agency has not yet received formal notification regarding the denial or its subsequent request for additional time.
The new service center is seen as a critical step for improving communication and response times within complex state welfare programs as these funding and policy discussions continue.