Home / State Resource Center / Facts & Statistics / Medicaid/SCHIP Programs / Arkansas

Arkansas

Eligibility¹

Children's Medicaid2	Separate Children's SCHIP2	Pregnant Women3	Parents4
200%	N/A	200%	14%

Enrollment Procedures for Children⁵

Program Type6	Joint Application	Face-to-Face Interview7	Asset Test8	Administrative Verification of Income9	Presumptive Eligibility
M-SCHIP	N/A	No	No	Yes	No

Renewal Procedures for Children⁵

Frequency of Renewal (in months)	12-month Continuous Eligibility	Joint Renewal Form	Face-to-Face Interview	Administrative Verification of Income9
12	No10	N/A	No	Yes

Waiting Period

Waiting Period	Length
Yes	6 months (only applies to children under Medicaid 1115 waiver)

Enrollment Procedures for Parents¹¹

Family Application	Face-to-Face Interview	Asset Test8
No12	Yes	$1,000

Renewal Procedures for Parents¹¹

Frequency of Renewal (in months)	Face-to-Face Interview
12	No

Enrollment Procedures for Pregnant Women¹³

Presumptive Eligibility	Asset Test8
Yes	$3,100

Source: D. Cohen Ross, A. Horn & C. Marks, "Health Coverage for Children and Families in Medicaid and SCHIP: State Efforts Face New Hurdles," Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, (January 2008); updated by the Center for Children and Families.

Notes:
1: Income eligibility levels noted are in effect as of January 2008 and expressed as a percentage of the 2007 Federal Poverty Level (FPL), without regard to income disregards or deductions.
2: Income eligibility levels for children's Medicaid includes SCHIP-funded Medicaid expansions; separate SCHIP programs are shown under children’s SCHIP.
3: Pregnant women's income eligibility levels are shown for regular Medicaid and SCHIP (through the unborn child option).
4: Parents' income eligibility levels are shown for parents without earned incomes (i.e., does not reflect earnings disregards used to determine income eligibility for working parents) applying for comprehensive Medicaid coverage based on a family size of three as of January 2008. Note that several states, including Arkansas, have established coverage for parents through waivers, however this coverage generally offers fewer benefits, higher cost-sharing, or is limited to premium assistance for employer-sponsored coverage.
5: Data as of January 2008 and information applies to both Medicaid and SCHIP, if applicable, unless otherwise noted.
6: Program type as approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as of March 1, 2008, as updated by the Center for Children and Families.
7: In Arkansas, county offices have the option of requiring either a face-to-face or telephone interview for Medicaid. Applicants who have had an active Medicaid case within the past year are not required to do an interview.
8: Asset limits noted are for a family of three.
9: In states with administrative verification, families do not have to provide verification of income, and such states generally verify this information by accessing data from other government agencies.
10: Children who qualify under expansion rules receive 12 months continuous eligibility, as opposed to a 12-month renewal period in "regular" Medicaid.
11: Data as of January 2008 and information for parents refer to enrollment/renewal procedures under regular Medicaid; some states have expanded Medicaid for parents (through waivers or state funds) and procedures under the expansion may be different than the procedures for regular Medicaid.
12: The joint Medicaid/SCHIP application in Arkansas has a place for parents to indicate they are interested in health coverage for themselves. Parents that indicate an interest in coverage for themselves are required to complete a separate Medicaid application.
13: Data as of January 2008.