Asa’s Medicaid Website Fails

Asa Hutchinson claims to be the “Computer Coding Governor.” But his administration is having some major tech issues. And that’s a problem, because the governor created an experimental work requirement for people on Medicaid that requires a functioning website run by the state.

Arkansans are supposed to verify their work history on the state’s website. But thousands of people are finding out the website is a coding nightmare. The website only functions on a part-time basis and has trouble handling older browsers. These are fatal designs, literally. More than 17,000 Arkansans have been locked out of their health insurance coverage because of Governor Asa Hutchinson’s flawed website.

The Southwest Times-Record detailed some of the problem…

“This is not accessibility. This is actually denying people with older operating systems the ability to even get on to the Arkansas Works page. This is a problem in the architecture of the program. When you design a website one of the first things you talk to your programmer about is how much accessibility you want to give to your customers. This is something that was planned and needs to be fixed.” Read more from the Southwest Times-Record here >>>

This online reporting requirement is a burden that is unique to the residents of Arkansas, a requirement that no other U.S. citizen has to meet to get Medicaid. The governor of Arkansas needs to embrace his computer coding education efforts, and fix his Arkansas Works website.