Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Arkansas program

Health coverage for an adult caregiver (ARHOME)

Arkansas Medicaid coverage for eligible adults with low income, including an adult relative caring for a child.

What it is

Arkansas Medicaid coverage for eligible adults with low income, including an adult relative caring for a child.

Your child's Medicaid does not insure you. ARHOME covers adults aged 19 to 64 whose household income this month is under the adult line, about 138% of the poverty level. It is one extra box on the same application, and it can sit behind a work plan and pick up what that plan does not.

Eligibility rules
  • ARHOME is for eligible Arkansas adults ages 19 to 64 who are not entitled to Medicare. The usual income line is about 138% of poverty, but DHS checks the adult’s own Medicaid household and calculation.
  • DHS says work-rule penalties do not begin before January 1, 2027. A qualifying caregiver of a child age 13 or younger, or of a disabled person, can be excluded from the requirement. The social worker can help you document caregiving and check the latest DHS notice, including any 2027 coverage changes.
What you get
  • Health coverage for your own appointments and prescriptions.
Coverage and limits
  • ARHOME is adult Medicaid coverage. It is not a substitute for a separate marketplace special-enrollment review.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the hospital financial counselor about including you in the family application at Access Arkansas.
  2. Have ready: current income records, the date pay changed and information about your caregiving responsibilities.

Access Arkansas / county DHS, 1-855-372-1084 · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • DHS decides eligibility from the family application and sends the coverage decision.
  • Arkansas is adding a work-or-activity rule for adults; penalties do not start before January 2027, and a parent caring for a child 13 or younger or for a disabled person is excused. Ask DHS how to record your caregiving.
Good to know

Your child's insurance answer says nothing about yours. Add yourself to the application and the county checks your income separately.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could I get coverage for my own care while my child is in treatment? What would change from my current plan, and could you help with the application and caregiving exemption if I qualify?”

Why I’m asking: I need to keep up with my own health care while caring for my child.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Add yourself to the family application and report the month your pay changed.

Your social worker

The hospital financial counselor can add the parents to the same application.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The Department of Human Services decides on this month's income.
Ask the agency
“I am caring for my child in cancer treatment. Can you add me to this application, tell me which health plan I would carry, and put in writing which work-requirement exemption applies to me?”

How to apply

First step: Add the parents to the Access Arkansas application, or call 1-855-372-1084.

  1. Add the parents to the same Access Arkansas application.
  2. If a paycheck has stopped, apply in that month rather than waiting.
  3. Ask in writing which work-rule exemption applies to a parent caring for a child in treatment.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply at access.arkansas.gov, on the same application as your child's, or call 1-855-372-1084.

What to gather

  • This month's pay for each adult
  • Who lives at home
  • The date a paycheck stopped

How long: Arkansas has not published a current adult decision deadline where we could read it.

What a yes looks like

A notice and a card in your own name, with the health plan named on it.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If income is the reason, ask about buying a plan on healthcare.gov instead, and about the 60-day window after losing coverage.

Watch out

  • It is judged on this month's income, not last year's.
  • DHS says work-rule penalties do not begin before January 1, 2027. A qualifying caregiver of a child age 13 or younger, or of a disabled person, can be excluded from the requirement. The social worker can help you document caregiving and check the latest DHS notice, including any 2027 coverage changes.
  • Ask which plan card you will carry. It is not necessarily your child's plan.

Dates that change this

2026-07-01: Arkansas says a work-and-activity requirement for adult coverage starts softly on July 1, 2026, with no penalties before January 1, 2027. The federal law excludes a parent caring for a child aged 13 or younger, or for a disabled person, but Arkansas has not published its own list. Tell the county you are caring for a child in cancer treatment and ask in writing which exemption applies to you. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)

2026-12-31: The federal approval behind ARHOME runs through December 2026; the next approval had not been published when this was checked.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Adult Medicaid for eligible Arkansas residents ages 19 to 64 who are not entitled to Medicare, using the adult’s own household and current income.

Covers: Doctor visits, prescriptions and hospital care for the parent · Mental-health care

What it costs the family: Unknown: Arkansas has not published current cost-sharing for ARHOME where we could read it.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
About 133% of the federal poverty level with a further 5 percentage points applied where needed, so about 138% in practice. The chart's dollar cells could not be opened.
Age
19 to 64
Residency
Arkansas

The trap: Arkansas is starting a work-and-activity requirement for adult coverage. Federal law excludes a parent caring for a child aged 13 or younger or for a disabled person, but the state has not published how it will apply that. Say in writing that you are caring for a child in cancer treatment, and keep the answer.

Where I read this

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