Benefits for seniors in Arkansas

Medicaid for people 65 and over

Arkansas DHS runs Medicaid for people who are aged (65 and over), blind, or disabled.

• If you get SSI: You get Medicaid automatically. Social Security decides this, not DHS. You do not need a separate application.
• Income (living at home): For most aged and disabled groups, the income limit is the SSI amount, up to $994 a month for one person or $1,491 for a couple.
• Savings and other assets: $2,000 for one person, or $3,000 for a couple.
• ARSeniors: If you are 65 or over and your income is at or below 80% of the federal poverty level, ARSeniors gives you full Medicaid coverage. You must enroll in Medicare if you can. Coverage starts on the date you apply, and you can ask for up to three months back. Check the current savings limit with DHS.
• What Medicaid covers: Full Medicaid helps with health care costs Medicare does not fully pay, and with long-term care.

Long-term care Medicaid. Nursing home care, Living Choices (assisted living), and ARChoices (care at home) use a higher income limit. Your income cannot be more than 300% of the SSI payment amount. The asset limit is $2,000 for one person or $3,000 for a couple. If you are married, only your own income counts toward the limit, and your spouse at home can keep more income and savings. Under federal rules for 2026, the spouse at home can keep up to $162,660 of the couple's savings, worked out by a formula. DHS figures the exact amounts. Medicaid will not pay for long-term care if your equity in your home is above the federal home equity limit, which is at least $752,000 in 2026. Ask DHS how this applies to you. Ask DHS for the amount you can keep each month for personal needs.

Estate recovery. If you were 55 or older and Medicaid paid for nursing home or waiver care, DHS may seek repayment from your estate after death. It waits while a spouse is alive or if a child is under 21 or blind or disabled, and families can ask for a hardship waiver. Medicare Savings Programs are not recovered.

Help paying Medicare costs

Arkansas has the standard Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs). You must have Medicare Part A. Arkansas uses the federal income limits.

• QMB (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary): Pays your Medicare premiums, deductibles and coinsurance. Income up to 100% of the poverty level: $1,350 a month for one person, or $1,824 for a couple.
• SMB (Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary, called SLMB in most states): Pays your Part B premium. Income up to $1,616 a month for one person, or $2,184 for a couple.
• QI-1 (Qualifying Individual): Pays your Part B premium. Income up to $1,816 a month for one person, or $2,455 for a couple.

Asset test: Yes. Savings and other assets must be under $9,950 for one person, or $14,910 for a couple.

Some income is not counted, so apply even if you are a little over. If you get any MSP, you also get Extra Help with drug costs automatically.

Prescription drug help

Arkansas does not have its own drug help program for seniors. The main help is the federal Extra Help program. It lowers your Part D premium and copays. You can get it if your income is below 150% of the federal poverty level, about $23,940 a year for one person in 2026. If you have Medicaid, ARSeniors, or an MSP, you get it without a separate application.

Extra state payment with SSI

Arkansas does not pay an optional state supplement to SSI. Social Security's rules list Arkansas as a state with no optional supplement. If you live at home, your SSI is the federal amount, up to $994 a month for one person, or $1,491 for a couple. A small "mandatory" state payment still exists only for a few people who have been on aid since 1974, and Social Security pays it.

Food help

SNAP food benefits in Arkansas are run by DHS.

• Rules for older adults: If someone in your home is 60 or older or disabled, you only have to pass the net income test. You can have up to $4,750 in countable savings. You can deduct medical costs over $35 a month, and all shelter costs above half of your income.
• Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP): If everyone in your home is 60 or older or disabled, no one has job earnings, and there are no children 15 or younger, you can be approved for 36 months, with yearly reviews. Interviews are by phone unless you ask for another way. Your worker must gather the needed papers for you.
• Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program: Offered only in some counties of northwest Arkansas. Call the DHS Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services at (501) 320-6586 to ask.

Help staying at home

• ARChoices in Homecare: A Medicaid program for people 65 and over, and adults 21 through 64 with a physical disability, who need nursing home level care. It can pay for an attendant to help with daily tasks, adult day services, respite care, one home-delivered meal a day, an emergency response button, and home changes for safety. You must meet the long-term care income and asset limits.
• Living Choices: Medicaid help for people who live in an assisted living facility.
• PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly): For people 55 and over who need nursing home level care. You must live in an area a PACE center serves.
• Where to start: Call the DHS Choices in Living Resource Center at 1-866-801-3435.

Property tax and housing help

Apply at your county assessor's office.

• Homestead credit: If you own and live in your home, you can get a credit of up to $500 a year off your property tax. Starting with 2026 tax bills, the state has approved up to $600. You get one credit per owner each year. Homes held in a trust may qualify.
• Age 65 or disabled assessment freeze: If you qualify for the homestead credit and are 65 or older, or disabled, the taxable value of your home can be frozen. The freeze starts at the next assessment date after you turn 65 or become disabled. New building or major improvements can still raise the value. Changes in local tax rates can still change your bill. The freeze does not pass to the next owner.
• Reappraisal cap: For all homesteads, the taxable value cannot rise more than 5% a year after a county reappraisal.

Help with energy bills

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps with heating bills in winter and cooling bills in summer. There is also crisis help to stop a shutoff or restore service.

• Who runs it: Local community-based organizations in all 75 counties. The Arkansas Energy Office oversees the program but does not take applications.
• When: Winter help usually opens the first Monday after New Year's Day and runs through April. Summer help usually opens the first Monday after July 4 and runs through September. It is first come, first served.
• Older adults go first: If you are 60 or older or disabled, your local agency can take your application up to 30 days before others.
• Income: Under the state's plan for the 2026-27 program year, household income must be at or below 60% of the state median income. Ask your local agency for the dollar chart for your household size.
• How to apply: Find the agency for your county at adeq.state.ar.us/energy/assistance/caad.aspx. Questions: 501-682-0744 or toll-free 888-233-0326.

Free help and counseling

• SHIIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program): This is Arkansas's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), run by the Arkansas Insurance Department. Trained counselors give free, one-on-one help by phone or in person with Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medigap, Part D, Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help. Call 1-800-224-6330 or (501) 371-2782.
• Area Agencies on Aging: Arkansas has eight regional Area Agencies on Aging. They help with meals, in-home help, caregiver support and benefits. Toll-free numbers from the DHS resource guide:
  • Northwest Arkansas: 800-432-9721
  • White River: 800-382-3205
  • East Arkansas: 800-467-3278
  • Southeast Arkansas: 800-264-3260
  • Central Arkansas (CareLink): 800-482-6359
  • West Central Arkansas: 800-467-2170
  • Southwest Arkansas: 800-272-2127
  • Western Arkansas: 800-320-6667
  • You can also find yours through the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or eldercare.acl.gov.
• State aging office: The DHS Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services, 501-686-9164.
• Choices in Living Resource Center: DHS help with long-term care and home care choices. Call 1-866-801-3435.
• DHS county offices: Every county has a DHS office that can help with Medicaid and SNAP applications. Use the "Find A County Office" map at humanservices.arkansas.gov.

How to apply

Check what you may qualify for