Arkansas Medicaid eligibility depends on which category you fall into. The state runs several programs, each with its own income ceiling and rules: ARHOME for adults 19 to 64, ARKids First for children, a separate pathway for pregnant women, a parent and caretaker relative category, and the Aged, Blind, and Disabled program. The largest of these, ARHOME, covers adults earning up to roughly 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which works out to about $22,025 a year for a single person in 2026. Only the Aged, Blind, and Disabled group applies an asset test; the others look only at income.
Baseline Requirements for Every Applicant
Before category-specific rules come into play, every applicant has to clear the same threshold. You must be an Arkansas resident and either a U.S. citizen or hold a qualifying immigration status. Arkansas gives you a 90-day reasonable opportunity period to produce citizenship or immigration documents, with extensions available if you’re making a good-faith effort to gather paperwork.1Arkansas Department of Human Services. Arkansas Medicaid State Plan – Eligibility You also need a Social Security Number or proof you’ve applied for one. Children under 21 and pregnant women who are lawfully residing in the United States can qualify without waiting out the standard five-year period that applies to many other noncitizens.
How Arkansas Counts Your Income
Most Arkansas Medicaid categories use Modified Adjusted Gross Income, or MAGI. MAGI begins with the adjusted gross income from your tax return and adds back a few items such as tax-exempt interest and certain foreign income. The important consequence: if you’re applying as a child, pregnant woman, parent or caretaker relative, or through ARHOME, the state looks only at household income against the federal poverty level. No one counts your savings, your car, or your other assets.2Medicaid.gov. Medicaid Eligibility Policy
Federal law also builds in a five-percentage-point income disregard for MAGI groups. So even when a program’s official cap is listed at 133 percent of the poverty level, you can effectively earn up to 138 percent and still qualify. The disregard applies automatically when it changes the outcome.3Medicaid.gov. MAGI Conversion: 5 Percent Disregard
The exception is the Aged, Blind, and Disabled group, which follows Supplemental Security Income rules and counts both income and assets.
ARHOME: Adults 19 to 64
ARHOME replaced Arkansas Works in January 2022 and now covers more than 220,000 adults.4Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Request to Amend the ARHOME Section 1115 Demonstration Project To qualify, you must be between 19 and 64, not enrolled in Medicare, not pregnant at the time of application, and not eligible under the parent or caretaker relative category.5Arkansas Department of Human Services. Health Care Eligibility Quick Reference 2026
Household income must fall at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level, and the five-percent disregard effectively raises that to 138 percent. Using the 2026 poverty guidelines, the annual income caps come out to roughly:
- Single adult: $22,025
- Household of two: $29,863
- Household of three: $37,702
- Household of four: $45,540
These figures come from multiplying the 2026 federal poverty level for each household size by 138 percent.6HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines: 48 Contiguous States No asset test applies. If you’re approved, coverage can be retroactive to 30 days before your application date.
ARKids First: Children Under 19
Arkansas covers children through a two-tier program with the most generous income thresholds in the state’s Medicaid system.
ARKids A provides full Medicaid coverage at no cost to children under 19 in families earning up to 142 percent of the federal poverty level (effectively 147 percent with the disregard).7Arkansas Department of Human Services. ARKids First ARKids B is the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), covering children in families with somewhat higher incomes and charging small copays for certain services.
DHS publishes monthly income limits by family size and updates them when the poverty guidelines change. As of April 2025, a family of four qualifies for ARKids A with monthly income up to $3,804.42 and for ARKids B with monthly income up to $5,653.04.7Arkansas Department of Human Services. ARKids First Neither program has an asset test. Covered services include checkups, dental exams, vision care, and other preventive care.
Pregnant Women
Pregnant women qualify at a higher income limit than most other groups. In Arkansas, the threshold is 209 percent of the federal poverty level.8MACPAC. Medicaid and CHIP Income Eligibility Levels for Children and Pregnant Women by State Using 2026 poverty guidelines, that means a single pregnant woman could earn roughly $33,356 a year and still qualify. No asset test applies.
One boundary matters here. Coverage ends on the last day of the month in which the 60th day after pregnancy falls.9Legal Information Institute. 016.28.22 Arkansas Code R 008 – Expansion of Pregnant Women Medicaid As of mid-2025, Arkansas is the only state that has not adopted the federal option to extend postpartum coverage to a full 12 months. After that 60-day window, you’d need to qualify under another category (typically ARHOME or the parent or caretaker relative group) to keep coverage. Newborns are automatically enrolled for their first year of life.
Parents and Caretaker Relatives
Parents and caretaker relatives of children under 18 have their own eligibility path, but the income limits are far lower than ARHOME. A family of three, for instance, must have monthly income below $276 to qualify under this category, roughly $3,312 a year.10Arkansas Department of Human Services. Health Care Eligibility Quick Reference
Most working parents will earn too much for this category. The workaround: parents whose income exceeds the caretaker limit but stays under 138 percent of the poverty level can qualify through ARHOME instead. One advantage of the parent or caretaker category is retroactive coverage stretching back three months from your application date, compared to only 30 days under ARHOME.
Aged, Blind, and Disabled
People who are 65 or older, blind, or who have a qualifying disability follow SSI-based rules, and this is the only group where the state counts your assets alongside your income.
Income
The basic SSI-related income limit in Arkansas tracks the federal SSI benefit rate and adjusts each year with cost-of-living increases. For long-term services and supports (nursing facility care, ARChoices home and community-based waivers, and assisted living), the limit is significantly higher. The most recent published Arkansas figure sets that long-term care income limit at $2,829 per month, which equals 300 percent of the federal SSI benefit.11Arkansas Department of Human Services. Aged, Blind and Disabled Categories Quick Reference All applicants in these waiver programs are treated as individuals for income purposes, regardless of marital status.
Assets
Countable assets are capped at $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a married couple. Bank balances, stocks, bonds, and non-homestead real property all count. Exempt items include your primary home (if you intend to return to it, or a spouse or dependent lives there), one vehicle, household goods, and designated burial funds. These asset limits have not been adjusted in decades, and they’re one of the tightest screens anywhere in the program.
Medically Needy Spend-Down
If your income exceeds the regular limit but you have significant medical expenses, Arkansas offers a Medically Needy path. It’s often called a “spend-down” because you use unpaid medical bills to offset excess income until what remains falls below the program threshold.
Those thresholds are low: $108.33 per month for an individual, $216.66 for a couple, and $333.33 for a family of four.12Arkansas Department of Human Services. Aged, Blind and Disabled Categories Quick Reference Any income above the applicable figure must be matched by outstanding medical bills. Once your bills equal or exceed the excess, you qualify for coverage during that period. Enrollment runs in three-month blocks and must be renewed at the end of each. Employed applicants can deduct $90 per month for work-related expenses and actual childcare costs (up to $200 per month for children under two, or $175 per month for older children). The spend-down is most often used by people in the Aged, Blind, and Disabled category whose income slightly exceeds the regular limit, but it’s also available to non-MAGI families.
The Five-Year Look-Back for Long-Term Care
If you’re applying for Medicaid coverage of nursing facility care or other long-term services, the state reviews any large gifts or asset transfers you made during the 60 months before your application date. The rule exists to prevent people from giving away assets to qualify and then having Medicaid cover the cost of their care.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries, and Transfers of Assets
When the state finds a transfer made for less than fair market value during that window, it calculates a penalty period during which Medicaid will not pay for nursing home care. The penalty equals the total uncompensated value transferred divided by the average monthly cost of nursing facility care in Arkansas. Give away $60,000 with an average monthly cost of $6,000, and you face a 10-month period covering your own care.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries, and Transfers of Assets
Some transfers are exempt. Transfers to a spouse, to a blind or disabled child, or into certain trusts for a disabled person’s benefit do not trigger a penalty. Returning an improperly transferred asset can also eliminate or reduce the penalty. This is one area where consulting an elder law attorney before applying can prevent a serious coverage gap.
How to Apply
The most straightforward option is online through the state’s Access Arkansas portal at Access.Arkansas.gov, where a single application covers everyone in your household. You can also apply in person at a local DHS county office, by mail, or by phone.14Arkansas Department of Human Services. Apply For Services The same portal handles renewals, document uploads, and status checks.
Once you’re enrolled, report changes in income, household size, or residency promptly. Arkansas cross-checks eligibility information against third-party databases on an ongoing basis, and any discrepancy can trigger a case review.15Justia Law. Arkansas Code 20-77-2104 – Medicaid Eligibility Verification
If You’re Denied
When DHS denies your application or cuts your benefits, you can request a fair hearing. The request must be in writing and received by the DHS Office of Appeals and Hearings within 35 days of the notice of adverse action.16Arkansas Department of Human Services. Medicaid Administrative Reconsiderations and Appeals
Timing is important. If you’re already receiving benefits and file within the 35-day window, your coverage continues at the current level until the hearing officer rules. Miss the deadline and the state can cut off or reduce coverage while your appeal moves forward. You can represent yourself, bring a friend or other spokesperson, or hire an attorney.16Arkansas Department of Human Services. Medicaid Administrative Reconsiderations and Appeals