Medicaid Work Requirements in Arkansas

Check your situation in Arkansas

When it starts in Arkansas

• July 1, 2026: DHS began automatic checks that sort ARHOME members into exempt, meeting the rule, or not meeting it, and sends status notices.
• December 2026: a DHS customer service vendor begins calling members whose status the automatic checks could not confirm.
• January 1, 2027: enforcement begins. People who do not meet the rule get 30 days to show they do. After that, DHS says benefits are suspended, and applications can be denied.

Who has to meet it

The rule applies to people ages 19 to 64 in ARHOME (the adult expansion group), unless they are pregnant, have Medicare, or are exempt. You meet it in a month with 80 hours of work, community service, a work program, or school (in any mix), by going to school at least half-time, or with at least $580 in monthly income.

You are exempt if, for example, you care for a child 13 or younger or a person with a disability, are pregnant or postpartum, are American Indian or Alaska Native, are medically frail, are a veteran with a 100% disability rating, were in foster care at 18 and are under 26, are in drug or alcohol treatment, meet SNAP or TANF work rules, or left jail or prison in the last 3 months. See the full exemption list.

How Arkansas checks and how to report

Months checked: DHS has not published a set number of months; it checks status using its own data and follows up by phone.

You can report your activities by phone, online through Access Arkansas, or at your local DHS county office. Update your contact information at ar.gov/update so you get notices and calls.

Other things to know in Arkansas

• About 210,000 people were enrolled in ARHOME as of May 1, 2026 (Governor's office).
• The state calls this the "welfare to work" requirement. It builds on DHS's "Pathway to Prosperity" waiver request from January 2025.
• DHS names pregnant and postpartum women, disabled veterans, caregivers, and people with special medical needs among exempt groups.

Official tools and contacts

• Report and upload: Access Arkansas
• DHS: soft implementation announcement
• ARHOME program page
• DHS contact page
• Agency: Arkansas Department of Human Services

Federal protections that apply in Arkansas

• The state must check its own records before asking you for proof.
• If it can't confirm you meet the rule, you get a notice and at least 30 days to respond, and your coverage continues meanwhile.
• You get written notice and the right to a fair hearing before coverage ends, and you can reapply at any time.
• If you lose Medicaid for not meeting the rule, you cannot get marketplace premium tax credits for those months. Learn more.