Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace Guide

To be eligible for health coverage through the Arkansas Marketplace, you must meet certain criteria. Typically, you can apply if you:¹⁰

• Reside in Arkansas
• Are either a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or lawfully present in the U.S.
• Are not incarcerated
• Are not enrolled in Medicare

So most Arkansas residents are eligible to enroll in a Marketplace plan. However, a more important question for most people is whether they’re eligible for financial assistance (premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions) in the Marketplace.

Eligibility for financial assistance depends on your income. In addition, to qualify for financial assistance with your Marketplace plan you must:

• Not have access to affordable employer-sponsored health insurance. If your employer offers coverage but you feel it’s too expensive, you can use our Employer Health Plan Affordability Calculator to see if you might qualify for premium subsidies in the Marketplace.
• Not be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP (Arkansas is unique in its approach to Medicaid expansion, as the state uses Medicaid funds to purchase Marketplace plans for eligible Medicaid expansion enrollees via the ARHOME program.¹¹ But this isn’t the same thing as federal subsidies that are available to people with incomes above the Medicaid expansion limit.)
• Not be eligible for premium-free Medicare Part A ¹²
• File a joint tax return with your spouse, if you’re married.¹³ (with very limited exceptions)¹⁴
• Not be able to be claimed by someone else as a tax dependent.¹³
• Starting in 2027, if you’re not a U.S. citizen, you’ll need to be a lawful permanent resident (LPR), Cuban-Haitian entrant (CHE), or COFA migrant to qualify for Marketplace subsidies. All other immigration statuses will no longer be eligible for subsidies.¹⁵

The open enrollment period for 2027 coverage runs from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027 in Arkansas. Enrollments must be completed by December 15 to have coverage effective on January 1.¹⁶

A federal rule change that was finalized in 2025 would have shortened the open enrollment period starting in the fall of 2026, but a judge vacated that rule change.¹⁷

Outside of open enrollment, you can only change plans or enroll in coverage if you qualify for a special enrollment period (SEP).

An SEP allows you to make plan changes outside open enrollment if you’ve had a qualifying life event, like getting married, having a baby, or losing other health coverage.¹⁸

Native Americans can enroll in Marketplace plans year-round, without needing a qualifying life event.

If you’re eligible for an ACA Marketplace plan in Arkansas, you can enroll:

• Online through HealthCare.gov
• By phone at (800) 318-2596
• With the help of a local insurance agent/broker, Navigator, or certified application counselor
• Via an approved enhanced direct enrollment entity.¹⁹

You can find affordable health plans in Arkansas on the ACA Marketplace (HealthCare.gov).

During the open enrollment period for 2026 coverage,  87% of Arkansas Marketplace enrollees were eligible for advance premium tax credits (APTC, or premium subsidies). The average subsidy amount was about $779/month, leaving the average subsidy-eligible enrollee paying only about $79/month for their coverage.²⁰

Note: In 2025, the average subsidy amount was $507/month in Arkansas, and the average subsidy-eligible enrollee paid $88/month for their coverage.²¹ The improved affordability for subsidized enrollees in 2026 (despite the expiration of federal subsidy enhancements that made coverage less affordable in most states even for subsidized enrollees) was due to the state’s new “premium alignment” approach that made Silver plans more expensive and thus made premium subsidies larger.

Source: CMS.gov²⁰

If your income isn’t more than 250% of the federal poverty level, you may also qualify for cost-sharing reductions (CSR) to lower your deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.²² During the open enrollment period for 2026 coverage, about 32% of Arkansas Marketplace enrollees selected a plan with CSR benefits.²⁰

You may enroll in Medicaid coverage if eligible, and Medicaid enrollment continues year-round. Arkansas expanded Medicaid under the ACA, and the state purchases private Marketplace health plans (Blue Cross Blue Shield for 2027) for people who are eligible for expanded Medicaid. This program is called ARHOME.²³

Short-term plans can be a lower-cost coverage option for people not eligible for Medicaid, Medicare, or subsidized Marketplace coverage. But it’s important to understand the drawbacks of short-term coverage before purchasing it, as these plans are not regulated by the ACA.

The Arkansas health insurance Marketplace offers individual and family health plans from four insurers for 2027:⁸

• HMO Partners, Inc (Health Advantage)
• QCA Health Plan, Inc. (Ambetter/Centene)
• USAble Mutual Insurance Co. (AR Blue Cross & Blue Shield)
• USAble HMO, Inc. (Octave)

In 2026, there were three separate Centene entities offering plans in the Arkansas Marketplace,²⁴ but two of them, Ambetter/Celtic and QualChoice Life and Health, are no longer available for 2027. Centene is continuing to offer QCA Health Plan in the Marketplace.²

The insurers that offer coverage through the Arkansas Marketplace have proposed the following average rate changes for 2027,²⁵ amounting to a weighted average proposed rate increase of about 6% before any subsidies are applied.²⁶

Source: RateReview.HealthCare.gov²⁵

The average rate changes are for full-price premiums. But most people in Arkansas receive subsidies to lower their costs, and the expiration of the federal subsidy enhancements resulted in a significant increase in net premiums for 2026. Overall affordability for subsidized enrollees will remain similar in 2027 to what it was in 2026, but that’s still significantly less affordable than it was in 2025. The average Arkansas Marketplace enrollee’s net premium was:

• $124/month in 2025²⁷
• $162/month in 2026²⁰ (despite the fact that many enrollees downgraded to Bronze plans)

But it’s important to note that Arkansas implemented a standardized premium alignment (Silver loading) approach for 2026, requiring insurers to add a 46% load to the cost of Marketplace Silver plans²⁸ to account for the fact that the federal government stopped funding cost-sharing reductions back in 2017 (insurers were already adding a load factor for this, but Arkansas standardized it for 2026).⁵

Since premium subsidy amounts are based on the cost of the second-lowest Silver plan, increasing the prices for Silver plans results in larger premium subsidies for everyone who qualifies for premium subsidies. This helps to ensure that Bronze and Gold plans become more affordable than they were in previous years.⁵

And it worked: Despite the expiration of the federal subsidy enhancements, the average subsidy amount in Arkansas grew from $507/month in 2025 to $779/month in 2026. And the average after-subsidy premium for people who qualify for subsidies dropped from $88/month in 2025 to $79/month in 2026 (for comparison, the average net premium for subsidy-eligible enrollees grew nationwide, from $74/month in 2025 to $96/month in 2026, due to the expiration of federal subsidy enhancements).²⁹

For 2027, the CSR load factor has been reduced to 40% in Arkansas,⁶ but this continues to make Bronze and Gold plans more affordable than they were before 2026.

Several states have mandated premium alignment rules, including Texas (40% load),³⁰ Washington (43.5% load),³¹ and Vermont (41.9%).³² But the 46% load that Arkansas used for 2026 was the highest we’ve seen (to clarify, this is beneficial for consumers, because it results in a more significant increase in Silver plan rates, and thus a larger increase in subsidy amounts).

Here are examples of how net premiums changed in Arkansas for 2026, including the impact of the expiration of federal subsidy enhancements and the state’s new approach to premium alignment:³³

40-year-old earning $40,000

• Lowest-cost plan in 2025: $84/month
• Lowest-cost plan in 2026: $0.04/month (impact of the federal subsidy enhancement expiration is more than offset by the new premium alignment rules in Arkansas, which make Bronze and Gold plans more affordable for people who get premium subsidies)
• Lowest-cost Gold plan in 2025: $224/month
• Lowest-cost Gold plan in 2026: $160/month (also due to the new premium alignment rule)

60-year-old earning $63,000

• Lowest-cost plan in 2025: $299/month
• Lowest-cost plan in 2026: $756/month (premium alignment doesn’t help here, because this person loses access to premium subsidies altogether due to the failure of Congress to extend the federal subsidy enhancements)

For perspective, here’s an overview of how unsubsidized average premiums have changed in Arkansas over the years:

• 2015: Average decrease of 2%.³⁴
• 2016: Average increase of 4.4%.³⁵
• 2017: Average increase of 9.1%.³⁶
• 2018: Average increase of 17.5%.³⁷
• 2019: Average increase of 4.1%.³⁸
• 2020: Average increase of 2.3%.³⁹
• 2021: Average increase of 3.4%.⁴⁰
• 2022: Average increase of 4.4%.⁴¹
• 2023: Average increase of 5.9%.⁴²
• 2024: Average increase of 4.1%.⁴³
• 2025: Avearge increase of 6.2%.⁴⁴
• 2026: Average increase of 22.2%.⁴⁵

During the open enrollment period for 2026 coverage, 160,307 people enrolled in private plans through the Arkansas Marketplace.²⁰

This was lower than 2025 enrollment, which had been a record high. (See chart below with historical enrollment data.)

The enrollment growth in recent years was driven in large part by the American Rescue Plan’s subsidy enhancements, which were extended through 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act. These subsidy enhancements made coverage more affordable from 2021 through 2025. But their expiration at the end of 2025 resulted in higher net premiums for 2026, and fewer people signed up for coverage.

The enrollment spike in 2024 and 2025 was also partially due to the “unwinding” of the pandemic-era Medicaid continuous coverage rule. Medicaid disenrollments resumed in the spring of 2023, and Arkansas had completed the unwinding process by October 2023, with more than 427,000 people disenrolled from Medicaid.⁴⁶

By April 2024, nearly 65,000 people had transitioned from Arkansas Medicaid to a private plan offered in the Arkansas Marketplace,⁴⁷ helping to drive 2024 enrollment higher than it had been in recent years.

Source: 2014,⁴⁸ 2015,⁴⁹ 2016,⁵⁰ 2017,⁵¹ 2018,⁵² 2019,⁵³ 2020,⁵⁴ 2021,⁵⁵ 2022,⁵⁶ 2023,⁵⁷ 2024,⁵⁸ 2025⁵⁹ 2026²⁰

HealthCare.gov
This is the ACA Marketplace where you can enroll in a health insurance plan online. You may also get help by calling (800) 318-2596.

Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
Nonprofit focused on improving healthcare access and public health in Arkansas.

Arkansas Insurance Department Consumer Services Division
Regulates insurance companies and assists consumers. Can help with health insurance questions, complaints, and more.

ARKids First
Arkansas’ Children’s Health Insurance Program. Provides low-cost health coverage for children in families who earn too much for Medicaid but can’t afford other insurance.

Arkansas Senior Health Insurance Information Program
Provides local Medicare counseling and assistance. Can help answer questions, resolve issues, and enroll in Medicare plans.