Arkansas Gets Six-Month ARHOME Medicaid Waiver Extension
The Trump administration extended Arkansas' ARHOME Medicaid expansion waiver through June while the state seeks a longer renewal.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Healthcare
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The Trump administration granted Arkansas a six-month extension of the ARHOME Medicaid expansion waiver, which now runs only through the end of June. The Arkansas Department of Human Services announced the extension on Thursday, after federal regulators verbally rejected a five-year renewal request in July.
Why it matters
ARHOME provides health insurance to almost 209,000 Arkansans, so the timing of the waiver directly affects coverage for low-income adults. The state requested a two-year extension to give lawmakers enough time to craft a replacement program.
ARHOME covers almost 209,000 Arkansans through private plans on the health insurance marketplace, with Medicaid paying premiums and cost-sharing payments. The extension runs only six months, while the current waiver is set to expire December 31 and the state had sought two years.
The players
Janet Mann
Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Human Services, who requested the two-year ARHOME extension in August.
Arkansas Department of Human Services
The state agency that administers Arkansas' Medicaid program and announced the waiver extension.
The details
Under ARHOME, Medicaid pays the premium for private insurance plans and provides additional payments that reduce or eliminate enrollees' out-of-pocket costs for low-income adults ages 19-64. Arkansas has operated some version of this privatized model since it first expanded Medicaid in 2014.
Timeline
2014: Arkansas first expanded Medicaid using the privatized model.
July 2026: Federal regulators verbally rejected the five-year ARHOME renewal request.
August 2026: DHS Secretary Janet Mann requested a two-year ARHOME extension.
December 31, 2026: The current ARHOME waiver is scheduled to expire.
January 2027: The Arkansas Legislature begins its regular session.
Roadmap
Arkansas has relied on a privatized Medicaid expansion model since 2014, and the ARHOME waiver is the mechanism that has sustained it. The six-month extension buys time for the legislature to replace that model before the program's future is settled.
Roughly 209,000 Arkansans currently enrolled in ARHOME face a shorter coverage runway, with the waiver now set to run only through June. Enrollees should watch for any change in how their private plans are funded once the state adopts a new delivery model.
The takeaway
Coverage for nearly 209,000 people now depends on decisions made during the 2027 legislative session rather than on a multi-year federal waiver. Readers tracking Medicaid should follow the legislature's replacement proposals closely.
What happens next
The Arkansas Legislature begins its regular session in January 2027, when lawmakers will take up a replacement for the ARHOME model before the waiver expires December 31.
Further reading
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