Arkansas ARChoices in Homecare Waiver

ARChoices in Homecare is Arkansas’s Medicaid waiver for care at home for older adults and adults with physical disabilities who would otherwise need a nursing home. It pays for help in the home and for supports to family caregivers. It sits alongside our Arkansas Long-Term Care Medicaid guide, which covers the nursing home rules.

Figures change periodically. Double-check current amounts before relying on them.

At a glance

Item	Details
Type of program	Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver
Who runs it	Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS)
Age	65 and older, or 21 to 64 with a qualifying physical disability
Care need	An intermediate (not skilled) nursing home level of care
Arkansas 2026 income rule (long-term care)	$2,982 a month (nursing facility, ARChoices, PACE)
Arkansas 2026 asset limit (single applicant)	$2,000
Waiting list	Not in 2026. Enrollment is capped, and a waitlist starts only when slots are projected to fill

ARChoices in brief

Put simply, responsibility for ARChoices sits with Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS). Who it is for: 65 and older, or 21 to 64 with a qualifying physical disability. Care need required: An intermediate (not skilled) nursing home level of care. Waiting list status in 2026: Not in 2026. Enrollment is capped, and a waitlist starts only when slots are projected to fill. More detail on each point follows, and the Arkansas state guide covers the shared financial rules. Other Arkansas programs, and general guides on care at home, are linked at the end of this page for comparison with ARChoices.

What the program is

ARChoices is run by the Arkansas Department of Human Services. DHS uses an independent assessment to decide whether a person meets the intermediate level of care and to set the amount of attendant care in the plan. A care coordinator then helps the person choose providers. ARChoices also includes a self-directed option, which DHS has long called Independent Choices, for people who want to hire their own attendants.

ARChoices is a “waiver” because federal Medicaid lets Arkansas waive certain rules in order to pay for care at home and in the community. Expect a cap on enrollment, a written plan of care, and a coordinator who lines up providers. They do not replace regular Medicaid: a person on a waiver still has ordinary Medicaid coverage for doctor visits, hospital care and prescriptions, with Medicare paying first for people who have it. See our overview of HCBS waivers.

Who qualifies in 2026

A person generally must meet all of these conditions:

Is 65 or older, or 21 to 64 with a physical disability as defined by Social Security rules
Needs an intermediate level of nursing home care (not skilled)
Qualifies for full Medicaid under Arkansas’s long-term care financial rules (see the money test below)
Lives in Arkansas and is a U.S. citizen or qualified non-citizen

The money test. ARChoices requires full Medicaid eligibility under Arkansas’s long-term care financial rules. The income and asset figures in the table above are Arkansas’s 2026 Long-Term Care Medicaid figures from our state guide. Exempt items generally include the home within the equity cap, a car, household goods and a modest burial fund. Married couples get extra protection in Arkansas: the spouse at home keeps a share of assets and may get some of the applicant’s income. See Spousal impoverishment rules.

About the level-of-care assessment. For ARChoices, an assessor checks how much help the person needs with bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, mobility and medications, and whether memory loss calls for supervision. A nurse or social worker working with Arkansas DHS usually does it in person, wherever the person is living. Families should describe the worst days honestly and bring a list of conditions and medicines. See Nursing home level of care and Activities of daily living.

What services it can pay for

Services depend on the person’s assessed needs and written care plan. Depending on the plan, they can include:

Attendant care (help with daily activities)
Adult day services and adult day health
Respite
Home-delivered meals
Personal emergency response systems
Home modifications for safety
Prevocational and other supports for some participants

Not every participant gets every service; the plan reflects assessed need and the help family already gives. When needs grow, request an updated assessment.

Directing your own care and paying family

ARChoices participants can choose IndependentChoices, Arkansas’s self-directed option. The participant, or a designated representative, hires, trains and supervises attendants, with help from a fiscal agent and counselor.

How to apply

There are two tracks, a financial one and a care one, and both must say yes. The usual path for ARChoices is:

Apply for Long-Term Care Medicaid through DHS (online through the state’s benefits website or at a local DHS county office).
Ask for an ARChoices assessment. DHS arranges an independent functional assessment.
DHS decides the level of care and sets a service budget or hours.
Choose agency attendants or the self-directed option.
Services start once both financial and medical approval are in place.

Before contacting Arkansas DHS, see Applying for a waiver and the documents checklist for what to gather.

Waiting lists

ARChoices enrollment is capped at the number of participants CMS approves for each waiver year. A waiting list starts only when slots are projected to fill, and no older adults were reported waiting in 2026. If a waitlist is opened, priority goes first to people omitted because of an administrative error, then to people leaving a nursing facility after 90 days or who have lived in a Level II assisted living facility for six months or more, then to people in Adult Protective Services custody, and then to everyone else by date.

More on how lists work: Waiver waiting lists.

How it relates to nursing home Medicaid

ARChoices and nursing home Medicaid share the 2026 income rule ($2,982 a month) and asset limit. The level-of-care test is the intermediate level, so most people who qualify for a nursing home qualify for ARChoices. A person who needs 24-hour supervision that home care cannot cover may need a nursing home or the Living Choices assisted living waiver instead.

Rules shared with nursing home Medicaid. Most money rules carry over from nursing home Medicaid. The five-year look-back for gifts generally applies, so a gift or transfer for less than fair value can cause a period when Medicaid will not pay for long-term care services. After death, estate recovery can reach services paid from age 55 on. Under ARChoices, income above an allowance may go toward the cost of care each month.

If a nursing home becomes necessary. A Arkansas nursing home resident keeps a 2026 personal needs allowance of $40 a month, and most other income goes to the facility. Our state guide covers the nursing home rules in detail.

Tips for families

Start early. If there is a waiting list or a slow assessment, the clock usually starts when you ask, not when the crisis comes.
Keep a paper trail: copies of forms and notices, plus the names and dates of every call to Arkansas DHS.
Watch the deadlines on notices. A denial or cut can be appealed through a fair hearing, and a timely request can keep services going meanwhile.
Report changes in income, assets, address or living situation to Arkansas DHS when they happen.
Plan for renewals. Medicaid and the care assessment are both renewed, usually once a year. See Renewals.
Get help with complex ARChoices cases, such as a spouse at home or past gifts. A certified Medicaid planner or a legal aid office can review how Arkansas’s rules fit a family’s situation.

Common questions

Can my daughter be paid to care for me? Yes, through IndependentChoices, if she meets the caregiver requirements and is not legally responsible for you. A spouse cannot be hired or paid, and neither can your legal guardian, power of attorney or income payee.

Is ARChoices the same as state plan personal care? No. Personal care is a separate state plan benefit with its own rules. ARChoices adds more services for people at a nursing home level of care.

What if my income is too high? Arkansas allows a Miller (income) trust for people whose income is above the limit.

Last updated for 2026. General information only, not legal or financial advice. Medicaid Answers is a free educational resource published by Medicaid Answers Foundation.