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Model Application Template for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program

Effective Date:

Approval Date: 5 implementation since the SCHIP legislation had not been passed at the time Arkansas’ program was under development. The ARKids First Medicaid 1115 demonstration was approved by CMS on August 19, 1997 and implemented on September 1, 1997; only days after the SCHIP legislation was signed by the President.

The State developed the ARKids First Program with the thought that it would be able to roll the ARKids First Medicaid 1115 demonstration into an SCHIP program. However, the State recognizes that as the ARKids First (now ARKids B) Medicaid demonstration and the SCHIP legislation were developing, they didn’t make completely parallel steps. Therefore, ARKids B enrollees, who do not meet the definition of an SCHIP targeted low-income child, will continue to receive their health care services through Title XIX federal funding. Children in ARKids B who meet the definition of an SCHIP targeted low-income child may receive their services through either Title XIX or Title XXI federal funding, at the discretion of the State. All of the ARKids B children will remain in the Medicaid 1115 demonstration regardless of the funding source. The children who do not meet the definition of an SCHIP targeted low-income child are the children of state employees and the children who meet the eligibility requirements for regular Medicaid.

The ARKids First application form and the promotional materials identify the program as ARKids First. (Effective August 4, 2000, ARKids First became an umbrella for ARKids A, regular children’s Medicaid, and ARKids B, the 1115 demonstration.) Applications may be made by mail, and a toll free number is available to clients. Applications in English or Spanish may be printed from the ARKids First web site at www.arkidsfirst.com.

The ARKids B benefit package and copayments are comparable to insurance offered to state employees. The State elected a copayment as the only cost sharing requirement, because it is the most equitable form of cost sharing. The State did not want to assess an enrollment fee nor monthly premiums because it wanted the family’s cost sharing responsibility to be related solely to usage. The State will keep the current copayment structure in place for ARKids B enrollees without regard to the funding source (XIX or XXI).

The application form, the benefit package, and the identification card will be the same for all ARKids B enrollees without regard to the funding source.

It is possible for Arkansas to pursue this SCHIP Medicaid expansion for