Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced plans Tuesday to eliminate the waitlist for Medicaid waivers for Arkansans with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

State of play: As of Dec. 1, about 3,200 residents were on a waitlist for Medicaid waivers to cover services, such as behavioral health counseling, Hutchinson said at a news conference.

• Of those, about 1,860 are low-income and eligible to receive basic medical services. But the rest are managing without services entirely.

Driving the news: Hutchinson, along with the state's Department of Human Services, submitted a request to the federal government Tuesday to allow Arkansas to immediately serve 200 more people on the waitlist.

What's next: Hutchinson also plans to ask the Arkansas General Assembly to put $37.6 million toward creating enough slots to serve everyone on the waiting list by June 2025.

• The governor's plan would use funds from the $60 million approved for DHS this year.

The number of social media platforms you use — and the number of contacts you personally know on them — will likely impact your mental health.

• Those are two findings Brian Primack, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas, recently shared with The Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: Social media usage spiked during the pandemic as people moved to stay virtually connected to friends and family.

• At the same time, the number of people reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression skyrocketed, and it's remained high since, writes Axios' Caitlin Owens.

The intrigue: Primack, author of "You Are What You Click," said social media is a double-edged sword, providing connection and comfort on one hand, and anxiety and depression on the other.

• The trick is to consume a healthy social media diet through deliberate, conscious use.

What they're saying: "One of the principles of being creative with your social-media use is recognizing that there are choices," Primack told the WSJ. "It isn't really which one is bad, or which one is good. It's matching your own individual needs and desires and wants to the right platform."

Go deeper via the Wall Street Journal.

👋 Worth here. Bentonville's arkanSEOUL Korean Food Company has been on my to-try list for a while.

The setup: I recently found myself driving right by the place at midday.

• It was a sign: Hunger + opportunity = lunch.

I'm not a Korean food connoisseur, and I wasn't in the company of a foodie mentor, so I took a stab at ordering myself.

• I ended up with the spicy pork bulgogi bowl, which is made up of marinated pork, rice and veggies ($10), and the pork and veggie Mandu dumplings ($8).

The verdict: Stuffed with generous portions, the dumplings were first-rate and scarf-able.

• The spicy pork bowl was perfectly good, with tender meat and well-cooked rice.
• Of note: I found the marinade to be more mild than spicy.

The bottom line: The lunch was a great, and filling, experience. I look forward to going back, but hopefully with someone who can direct me to other dishes. Maybe the short ribs?

• There's more to arkanSEOUL. That's clear.

💭 Worth's thought bubble: Yes, I've intentionally omitted repeating the recent social media controversy between arkanSEOUL and the owner of another local restaurant. Food should serve as a unifier across cultures.

• I'm grateful we have such an eclectic mix of restaurants in NWA and a community that supports them all.

While the state continues to struggle with low vaccination rates and the ongoing threat of COVID-19, Arkansas is seeing about half as many people hospitalized with the virus compared to this time last year.

By the numbers: 518 people were hospitalized in the state with COVID-19 Tuesday, compared to 1,050 on the same date in 2020, Gov. Hutchinson noted.

Between the lines: We didn't have vaccines available for most of last year.

• The Food and Drug Administration issued the first emergency use authorization for a vaccine in December 2020. Eligible residents at that time were mostly health care workers.
• Now, 52% of Arkansans who are 5 or older are fully vaccinated with another 11.9% partially vaccinated, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.

Yes, but: We are still in a pandemic, and experts have warned the new Omicron variant is spreading quickly.

• Jose Romero, the state's health secretary, stressed that people need to continue to get vaccinated, especially if they're gathering for the holidays.

Tornado risk is increasing in the Mid-South and Southeast compared to the Plains states, and their occurrence is becoming more variable from year to year, Axios' Andrew Freedman writes.

Of note: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will assess tornado damage in Arkansas Wednesday, Gov. Hutchinson announced yesterday.

• The state had 307 structures impacted by the storms, including 61 destroyed and 82 with major damage.