12-month postpartum Medicaid in Arkansas

ARHome (Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me) has extended postpartum Medicaid coverage from the federal minimum of 60 days to 12 months. The extension took effect 2022-04-01 and was authorized under Section 9812 of the American Rescue Plan Act (2021), which allowed states to make the extension permanent through a State Plan Amendment.

What the extension covers: the same Medicaid benefits you had during pregnancy — primary care, specialty care including cardiology and behavioral health, prescription drugs, dental, vision, and transportation to appointments. Crucially, it covers screening and treatment for the leading causes of late-postpartum death: cardiovascular and cardiomyopathy events (roughly a third of US pregnancy-related deaths), mental-health and substance-use conditions, and infections.

What you need to do to keep coverage: generally nothing during the 12 months — ARHome (Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me) is required to provide continuous eligibility. At the end of the 12-month window, the state will check whether you still qualify under another Medicaid category (expansion adult, parent, disability-based). If you no longer qualify for Medicaid, you will be referred to the health insurance marketplace for ACA subsidies with a special enrollment period triggered by loss of Medicaid.

Arkansas adopted expansion through the 'private option' waiver — enrollees are placed in qualified marketplace plans purchased with Medicaid dollars. In 2023, Arkansas disenrolled more than 420,000 people during the unwinding, one of the highest procedural termination rates in the country.