Do I Qualify for Medicaid in Arkansas: Categories and Income Limits

Arkansas Medicaid eligibility turns on three things: you must live in Arkansas, you must be a U.S. citizen or a qualified noncitizen, and your household income (and sometimes your assets) must fall within the limit for the category that fits you. For adults ages 19 to 64, that limit is 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which works out to about $22,025 a year for a single person in 2026. Children, pregnant women, and people who are 65 or older, blind, or disabled each have their own thresholds, and those limits are generally higher than the adult limit.

Residency and Citizenship

You have to live in Arkansas at the time you apply. There is no minimum length of time you must have lived here first.¹

You also need qualifying immigration status: U.S. citizen or national, or a qualified noncitizen such as a lawful permanent resident.²

One boundary to know: most lawful permanent residents who entered the United States on or after August 22, 1996 cannot get federally funded Medicaid for five years after receiving their qualified status.³ The clock runs from the date you got that status, not the date you apply. Refugees, asylees, veterans, and active-duty military members and their families are exempt from the wait.

Which Category You Fall Into

Arkansas runs several Medicaid programs, and the category that fits your age and situation determines both your income limit and whether the state also looks at your assets.

Adults 19 to 64: ARHOME

The Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me program, known as ARHOME, is the coverage path for most adults ages 19 to 64 who are not on Medicare. It covers adults with household income at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level, and it usually delivers that coverage through a private insurance carrier rather than traditional Medicaid.⁴

Children Under 19: ARKids First

Children get coverage through ARKids First, which has two tiers. ARKids A is full Medicaid at no cost to lower-income families. ARKids B covers children in families with somewhat higher income and charges co-payments for some services.⁵ Both tiers use income limits well above the adult ARHOME limit, so children often qualify in families where the parents do not.

Pregnant Women

Pregnant women qualify with income up to roughly 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Coverage pays for prenatal care, labor and delivery, and postpartum care. Arkansas currently limits postpartum coverage to 60 days after delivery.

Aged, Blind, and Disabled

If you are 65 or older, legally blind, or have a qualifying disability, you fall into a separate set of categories. Many people in this group get Medicaid automatically once they qualify for Supplemental Security Income. Others qualify through specialized programs, including long-term care waivers, Medicare Savings Programs, and the TEFRA program for children with disabilities.⁶

Income Limits by Category

Every category measures income against the federal poverty level, which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services updates each year. For 2026, the baseline is $15,960 for a single person, $21,640 for a household of two, $27,320 for three, and $33,000 for four. Each additional person adds $5,680.⁷

ARHOME (138 Percent of FPL)

Using the 2026 guidelines, the ARHOME income ceilings for adults are:⁷

1 person: $22,025 per year (about $1,835 per month)
2 people: $29,863 per year (about $2,489 per month)
3 people: $37,702 per year (about $3,142 per month)
4 people: $45,540 per year (about $3,795 per month)

ARKids First

ARKids uses higher thresholds. The most recent monthly figures posted by DHS put the limit for a family of three at roughly $3,154 for ARKids A and $4,686 for ARKids B.⁵ These figures adjust when the federal poverty guidelines update, so check the current DHS numbers if you are applying later in 2026.

Aged, Blind, and Disabled

Income limits here vary by the specific program. Many are tied to the federal SSI benefit rate and adjust annually with cost-of-living increases. Long-term care programs allow higher income, up to roughly $2,829 per month for an individual, because those programs count only the applicant’s own income and not a spouse’s or children’s earnings.⁶ Medicare Savings Programs, which help pay Medicare premiums and cost-sharing, use their own tiered limits.

When Assets Count

ARHOME and ARKids do not use an asset test. Those applications turn on income alone, calculated under Modified Adjusted Gross Income rules.

If you are applying under an aged, blind, or disabled category, the state also looks at your countable assets: cash, bank accounts, stocks, and similar holdings. For most of these programs the resource limit is $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple.⁶

Not everything counts. Your primary home, one vehicle, personal belongings, and household furnishings are generally excluded, and so are burial funds up to a set amount and low face-value life insurance. For TEFRA and autism-related coverage for children, only the child’s own resources count, not the parents’.⁶

How Household Size Gets Counted

Household size matters because a larger household means a higher income limit. For ARHOME and ARKids, the state does not simply count everyone under your roof. It uses your federal tax filing.

If you file a tax return, your household is you, your spouse if you file jointly, and anyone you claim as a dependent. If someone else claims you as a dependent, your household is that taxpayer, their spouse, and all of their dependents.⁸

There is a wrinkle for children claimed by someone other than a parent. If a grandparent claims a child as a dependent, the child’s household is built using relationship rules instead: the child, any parents in the home, and any siblings under 19 in the home. The grandparent is not counted in the child’s household even if they all live together.⁸

How to Apply

You can submit a single application that covers your whole family through any of these routes:⁹

Online at Access.Arkansas.gov, where you can also upload documents and check status
By phone with a DHS representative
By mail to the DHS central processing center
In person at a local DHS county office

Have recent pay stubs, tax returns, and identification ready. You will need information about household income, tax filing status, and the identity and citizenship status of everyone applying.

How Long a Decision Takes

DHS has 45 days to decide most Medicaid applications.¹⁰ If your application involves a disability determination that requires medical review, the window extends to 90 days.¹¹

The decision comes as a written notice in the mail. Watch for it. If DHS asks for more documentation along the way and you do not respond promptly, your application can be denied as incomplete.

Coverage for Bills From Before You Applied

Federal Medicaid rules generally let the program pay for covered services you received in the three months before you applied, if you would have been eligible at that time.¹² Arkansas has used its ARHOME waiver to shorten that retroactive window to 30 days for adults on ARHOME.⁴ If you are an ARHOME adult with medical bills from two or three months ago, Medicaid likely will not cover them even if your income qualified you at the time. Apply as soon as you lose other coverage or your income drops.

Keeping Coverage: Annual Renewal

Your eligibility gets reviewed once every 12 months.¹³ DHS first tries to confirm you still qualify using data it already has, such as tax records and wage databases. If it can, your coverage renews automatically and you get a notice.

If DHS cannot confirm eligibility on its own, it sends you a renewal form, usually pre-filled with what the state already has. Review it, correct anything that has changed, and return it within at least 30 days by mail, online, by phone, or in person. Miss the deadline and lose coverage? You have 90 days after termination to send the renewal in and potentially get reinstated without starting over.¹³

If You Are Denied

A denial or termination triggers a right to a fair hearing. You have up to 90 days from the date the notice was mailed to request one, and the notice itself will explain how.¹⁴

Timing matters if you already have Medicaid and DHS moves to reduce or end it. Request a hearing before the effective date of the change, or within 10 days of the notice (whichever is later), and your benefits generally continue at their current level while the appeal is pending. Wait longer and they can stop while the case moves forward.¹⁵

1
eCFR. 42 CFR 435.403 – State Residence
2
eCFR. 42 CFR 435.406 – Citizenship and Noncitizen Eligibility
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S. Code 1613 – Five-Year Limited Eligibility of Qualified Aliens for Federal Means-Tested Public Benefit
4
Arkansas Department of Human Services. ARHOME – A Proposed Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration Project Summary
5
Arkansas Department of Human Services. ARKids First
6
Arkansas Department of Human Services. Quick Reference Medicaid Chart
7
ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – 48 Contiguous States
8
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. MAGI-Based Household Income Eligibility Training Manual
9
Arkansas Department of Human Services. Apply for Services
10
Secretary of State of Arkansas. MS – Aging and Adult Services Waivers – Section 26120 Application Process
11
Arkansas Department of Human Services. How to Apply for TEFRA Coverage
12
eCFR. 42 CFR 435.915 – Effective Date
13
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Overview – Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility Renewals
14
eCFR. Subpart E – Fair Hearings for Applicants and Beneficiaries
15
eCFR. 42 CFR 438.420 – Continuation of Benefits While the MCO Appeal and State Fair Hearing Are Pending