Arkansas Medicaid Office

Arkansas Medicaid office (DMS)

Arkansas Medicaid runs as a portfolio of brand-specific programs — ARKids First, ARHOME, ConnectCare, Healthy Smiles, PASSE, Traditional Medicaid, TEFRA, NET (Non-Emergency Transportation), and AR HIPP — under the Department of Human Services. The Division of Medical Services (DMS) handles day-to-day program operations; a separate Division of County Operations (DCO) handles eligibility. DMS itself notes that beneficiaries with questions about eligibility should contact DCO.

How DMS is organized

DMS is split into four units, each handling a distinct slice of Medicaid operations:

• Plan Partnerships — manages the PASSE managed-care plans (for members with complex behavioral health, developmental, or intellectual disabilities), Non-Emergency Transportation, the Healthy Smiles dental managed-care program, and the Arkansas Independent Assessment system used to build Person-Centered Service Plans (PCSPs).
• Fee for Service — provider enrollment, prior authorizations and utilization review, Electronic Visit Verification, rate reviews, the Patient-Centered Medical Home incentive program, the Primary Care Case Management program, and policy analysis.
• Administration and Operations — contracts, reporting, and technology systems; works with DHS shared services (HR, Finance).
• Pharmacy — clinical pharmacy oversight, prior authorization, clinical drug criteria development; the Pharmacy Vendor supports rebate invoicing and clinical review.

Where to start

• Apply or manage your benefits — access.arkansas.gov, the unified DHS portal for Medicaid, ARKids, TEFRA, SNAP, and TEA.
• Beneficiary support phone — 1-855-372-1084 to request a paper application or to ask about an open case.
• DMS website — humanservices.arkansas.gov/divisions-shared-services/medical-services.

DMS publishes that Arkansas Medicaid is jointly funded and operated by DHS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and serves eligible Arkansans from birth through end-of-life.

Who qualifies for Arkansas Medicaid?

Arkansas Medicaid eligibility is sliced by program brand, and each brand carries its own income standard, age limit, and benefit package. The Division of County Operations runs the actual eligibility determinations; the Quick Reference Chart on the DCO page is the authoritative list of program categories.

ARHOME — the ACA expansion adult group

Arkansas covers the expansion adult group through ARHOME (Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me) rather than standard Medicaid. ARHOME applies to adults age 19 to 64 with income at or below 133% of the federal poverty level (138% with the 5% income disregard). Applicants cannot be pregnant at the time of application, cannot be enrolled in Medicare, and cannot be eligible for the Parent/Caretaker Relative track. Retroactive coverage is limited to 30 days prior to the application date — shorter than the standard three-month retroactive window for most Medicaid categories.

Children's coverage — ARKids First A and B

• ARKids A — full Medicaid for children under 19 with family income at or below 142% FPL (147% with the disregard if the child has insurance). PCP assignment required; 12-month continuous eligibility.
• ARKids B — limited-benefit CHIP coverage for children under 19 with family income at or below 211% FPL (216% with disregard). Copays required; 12-month continuous eligibility.

Pregnancy coverage

Pregnant women qualify at or below 209% FPL (214% with disregard); the number of expected babies is included in the household size. The Quick Reference Chart specifies "Coverage ends at 60th day post-partum" — Arkansas has not extended postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months under ARPA at the time the chart was published. Presumptive Eligibility for Pregnant Women (PE-PW) provides coverage from the date of determination until the final eligibility decision.

Aged, blind, or disabled (AABD)

The non-MAGI track for older adults and people with disabilities uses the SSI Federal Benefit Rate as the income standard ($994/month individual, $1,491 couple) and a $2,000/$3,000 resource limit. Multiple sub-categories exist: SSI (auto-enrolled), PICKLE (COLA recipients who lost SSI), Disabled Adult Child, OBRA '90 (widows/widowers and surviving divorced spouses with disability), and AABD Adult Spend-Down (income limit of $108.33 individual, with medical bill deductions; must re-enroll every 3 months).

Long-term services — nursing facility, ARChoices, DDS Waiver, PACE

LTSS applicants use a $2,982 monthly income limit (300% of the SSI Federal Benefit Rate) with a $2,000 resource limit. When one spouse is institutionalized, the community spouse may retain up to $162,660 in resources under federal community-spouse rules. PACE serves residents age 55 and older with no retroactive coverage.

TEFRA, Autism, and Workers with Disabilities

Three categorical tracks address specific populations:

• TEFRA — children whose own income (not their parents') is at or below $2,982/month. Application must be filed by the child's 5th birthday; the age range is 18 months through 8th birthday. Families at or above 150% FPL or $25,000 annual income pay a sliding-scale premium.
• Autism waiver — same age range as TEFRA; requires functional eligibility, autism diagnosis, and disability determination; no retroactive coverage.
• Workers with Disabilities — no earned-income limit, but unearned income must be at or under the SSI limit; total income determines a cost-sharing amount.

Former Foster Care

Former foster youth qualify with no income limit. They must have aged out of the Arkansas Foster Care Program between ages 19 and 21, or — if they aged out of foster care in another state — must have reached age 18 on or after January 1, 2023.

Arkansas Medicaid income limits

The Division of County Operations publishes a Medicaid Quick Reference Chart that lists every program track with its monthly income limit, resource limit, and qualifying criteria. The figures below are verbatim from that chart. Verify the current chart at humanservices.arkansas.gov before relying on a specific dollar amount.

MAGI tracks — children, pregnant women, parents, ARHOME

Aged, blind, or disabled (non-MAGI) tracks

Medicare Savings Programs and ARSeniors

Spend-down enrollment must be re-established every three months for the AABD adult spend-down track; a spend-down period is set up for a fixed period, not to exceed three months.

How to apply for Arkansas Medicaid

Most Arkansas Medicaid applications go through one portal: Access.Arkansas.gov. The same application screens for Medicaid, ARKids, TEFRA, SNAP, and TEA (Transitional Employment Assistance). LTSS, DDS waiver, and PACE applications use separate intake paths.

Apply at access.arkansas.gov

access.arkansas.gov handles the bulk of Arkansas Medicaid applications. The portal lets you:

• Submit a single application for an entire family online, by mail or phone, or in person at local county DHS offices statewide.
• Renew your case or update information online.
• Upload documents.
• Read notices from DHS and set up text or email alerts.
• Check the status of applications or renewals.

To get a paper application form, contact your local county DHS office or call 1-855-372-1084.

For developmental disability services

The Division of Developmental Disabilities Services has an intake and referral unit that walks families through the application process for Early Intervention, the Community and Employment Supports (CES) waiver, Autism services, Early Intervention Day Treatment, and Children's Special Services (CSS). Call the DDS intake and referral unit at 501-683-5687.

For nursing home, assisted living, and home-based long-term care

LTSS applications use the local county DHS office, not the Access Arkansas portal. Fill out the LTSS Medicaid Assistance application, then submit it with supporting documents to your county office. To talk through options first, call the Choices in Living Resource Center at 1-866-801-3435 or email choices.in.living@dhs.arkansas.gov.

• ARChoices in Home Care — attendant care, home-delivered meals, personal emergency response systems, adult day services, and respite care.
• Independent Choices — same population as ARChoices, but the client (or their representative) acts as employer of their in-home workers, paid from Medicaid funds they control.
• Living Choices Assisted Living — Medicaid coverage for apartment-style housing for people who need extra care and would otherwise be at risk of nursing facility placement.
• Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) — for people age 55 and older who meet the state's criteria for needing nursing home care.

Decision timing and retroactive coverage

Federal Medicaid rules give Arkansas up to 45 days to decide a non-disability application and up to 90 days for applications based on disability. Standard Medicaid categories allow retroactive coverage up to three months before the application month. ARHOME is the exception — its retroactive window is limited to 30 days prior to the application date. ARChoices, Assisted Living, DDS, and PACE allow no retroactive coverage.

What Arkansas Medicaid covers

The Division of Medical Services handles the day-to-day management of the Arkansas Medicaid program, ensuring providers get paid and clients get medically necessary services. Coverage is delivered through a mix of fee-for-service Medicaid (under ConnectCare PCCM), marketplace qualified health plans (under ARHOME for adults age 19 to 64), PASSE managed-care plans (for members with complex behavioral or developmental needs), and the Healthy Smiles dental managed-care contract.

Program brands under Arkansas Medicaid

• ARHOME (Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me) — the adult expansion program; buys qualified health plans on the marketplace as the Medicaid delivery vehicle.
• ARKids First — Medicaid (ARKids A) and CHIP (ARKids B) coverage for children under 19.
• ConnectCare — Primary Care Case Management for traditional fee-for-service Medicaid; the member's primary care physician monitors care.
• PASSE (Provider-Led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity) — managed care for Medicaid clients with complex behavioral health, developmental, or intellectual disabilities.
• Healthy Smiles — the dental managed-care program for Arkansas Medicaid members.
• TEFRA — Medicaid for severely disabled children who could otherwise be institutionalized; counts only the child's income and resources.
• NET (Non-Emergency Transportation) — rides to and from Medicaid-covered medical appointments.
• AR HIPP (Arkansas Health Insurance Premium Payment Program) — pays employer-sponsored insurance premiums when at least one person on the policy is a Medicaid member.

EPSDT for children

Children under 21 enrolled in ARKids A receive Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment benefits — the federal mandate that covers any medically necessary service for a child, including dental, vision, hearing, and behavioral health services adult Medicaid does not always cover.

Long-term services and supports

Arkansas Medicaid covers nursing-facility care plus several home- and community-based options: ARChoices in Home Care, Independent Choices (self-directed care), Living Choices Assisted Living, the Community and Employment Supports (CES) waiver for people with developmental disabilities, and PACE for residents age 55 and older who meet the nursing-facility level of care.

ARHOME work and community engagement requirement

DHS announced in February 2026 a soft implementation of the ARHOME work and community engagement requirement starting July 1, and in May 2026 announced free public town halls on the requirement. Adults age 19 to 64 served by ARHOME must meet the community engagement and work requirement unless exempt. Check the DHS news feed and ARHOME FAQ for current rules and exemption categories.

Other state Medicaid pages