An additional 1,232 people failed to meet Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirement in December, for a total of 18,000 people dropped from government-funded coverage since the rules kicked in seven months ago.

The latest tally will continue to offer fodder to critics who say the state’s requirements are ineffective at their goal of moving people from Medicaid, where they may be unemployed or at an underpaid job, and onto employment that offers private health insurance coverage.