The Arkansas Department of Human Services is ending its Medicaid managed care dental program and returning to a fee-for-service program.
Four notes:
1. Arkansas has operated its managed care program since 2018.
2. The managed care program currently serves 572,047 beneficiaries.
3. Kristi Putnam, secretary for the Arkansas Department of Human Services, said in a June 4 news release that the department determined a fee-for-service program for Medicaid dental services was the most cost-effective option after reviewing factors such as dental service utilization and program expenditures.
4. DHS will administer the fee-for-service program instead of Delta Dental and MCNA, which currently administers the managed care program.
5. The state will launch its fee-for-service program Nov. 1.