DHS Director John Selig on What Changes He’d Make in Public Policy

John Selig

John Selig was named director of the Department of Human Services by Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2005.

Selig joined DHS in 1988 as a special assistant to the director. He left the agency for two years in 1994 to work at the Department of Health before returning to DHS as the director of Behavioral Health Services. Before joining state government, Selig was on the staff of U.S. Sen. David Pryor and served two years in the Peace Corps as a teacher in West Africa.

He is a graduate of Stanford University and received a Master of Public Administration from Princeton University. 

Arkansas’ private option program is considered a great success. What are the top three elements of the program that have allowed it to succeed?

Political leadership, creative thinking and a lot of hard work. Unlike many states, we’ve had remarkable bipartisan leadership from the governor and the Legislature. They replaced a political nonstarter, expansion of traditional Medicaid, with an innovative private-sector approach that several other states are now considering. Of course, you then have to go from idea to implementation, and I can’t say enough about the team here and the members’ commitment to build a working system in far less time than most thought possible. I recently met with staff members who had been up until midnight the day before ensuring a system fix worked as planned. That’s dedication! The result is a program that has spurred competition in the insurance marketplace, reduced the burden of uncompensated care and helped cut the uninsured rate in Arkansas by half.

In the worst case scenario (meaning higher costs than traditional), how much money would Arkansas have to come up with to keep the private option?

We believe the private option will stay within projected costs. If things turn out differently at the end of this three-year demonstration project, everyone involved will need to take a hard look at the overall value of the program. We’ll have to look at the cost and the benefits to the state’s economy and to our fellow Arkansans. There are more than 200,000 people sleeping better knowing that one medical crisis isn’t going to bankrupt their families.

If the Legislature fails to reauthorize the private option, what’s the first thing DHS must do?

There will, no doubt, be rigorous debate, but I believe legislators will reauthorize the program. They understand the positive impact it has on the state’s budget, the financial stability it offers hospitals and the peace of mind it provides citizens. If it isn’t reauthorized, DHS will notify the 211,000 beneficiaries that their health coverage will end June 30.

You became director of DHS in 2005. What changes have you seen in the population you serve since then?

It’s not so much that our clients have changed, but that the public has a better understanding of who we serve. Twenty-five years ago, DHS was seen as a “welfare” agency, helping people who were down and out. Today, there’s a realization that we are largely serving your family and neighbors who need basic health care or, because of a disability or a tough economy, need assistance remaining as independent as possible. We also protect children and adults at risk of abuse.

What policy changes would you like to see so people don’t need help from DHS?

We still put too many resources toward fixing problems and not enough toward preventing them. For example, we pay a lot of money for children to get residential behavioral care when earlier services for them and their families would have been more effective and less expensive. Similarly, many seniors go into nursing homes too soon when, with the right supports, they could stay at home and have a higher quality of life. We’re making progress, but aren’t where we want to be.