How Much Is Health Insurance in Arkansas?

On this page

• What an Arkansas Marketplace plan costs before subsidies
• What you’d pay after a tax credit
• Costs beyond the premium
• Arkansas Marketplace facts
• When to enroll
• Other options in Arkansas
• Frequently asked questions

What an Arkansas Marketplace plan costs before subsidies

Age	Benchmark silver plan, per month (2026 estimate)
21	$606
30	$687
40	$774
50	$1,082
60	$1,644
64	$1,817
Child under 15	$463

At those prices, two 40-year-old parents and two young children would pay about $2,475 a month for benchmark plans before subsidies.

What you’d pay after a tax credit

High sticker prices matter less if you qualify for a premium tax credit, because the credit is the gap between the benchmark premium and a set share of your income. A single 40-year-old with $40,000 of income would pay about $287 a month for Arkansas’ benchmark plan in 2026, and the credit would cover about $487 of it, a bigger credit than the same person would get in most states. Their share for 2027 would come to about $289 a month. Above 400% of the federal poverty level, $62,600 for one person for 2026 coverage and $63,840 for 2027, there’s no credit, so you’d pay Arkansas’ full price.

In 2026, the average credit in Arkansas was $779 a month, and enrollees who got one paid $79 a month on average. Our guide to subsidy income limits shows where the cutoffs fall for different household sizes.

Costs beyond the premium

On top of the premium, you’ll owe part of the bill when you use care: usually the deductible first, then copays or coinsurance. The out-of-pocket maximum caps what you pay in a year at $10,600 for one person in 2026 and $12,000 in 2027. With income below 250% of the poverty level, a silver plan’s cost-sharing reductions bring those numbers down.

Arkansas Marketplace facts

• Marketplace: HealthCare.gov. Arkansas runs a state-based Marketplace on the federal platform, so you enroll through HealthCare.gov while the Arkansas Insurance Department oversees the plans.
• Enrollment: 160,307 plan selections for 2026, down about 4% from 166,639 in 2025. About 87% of enrollees got a premium tax credit or cost-sharing help.
• Insurers: Six insurance companies owned by two parent companies, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Centene, sold 2026 plans: USAble Mutual (Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield), HMO Partners (Health Advantage), USAble HMO (Octave), QCA Health Plan, Celtic Insurance Company (Ambetter) and QualChoice Life and Health. Celtic and QualChoice Life and Health weren’t among the companies that filed 2027 rates, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. If your plan comes from one of them, check your renewal notice closely; see what to do if your insurance company leaves the Marketplace.
• 2027 prices: Proposed as of late September 2026. Averages come out to about 6.0% by ACA Signups’ calculation or 7.6% by healthinsurance.org’s, well below the roughly 15% median proposed nationally. Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield asked for increases from 3.1% (USAble HMO plans) to 10.5% (HMO Partners plans), and Centene asked for 15.9% on QCA Health Plan.
• State help: Arkansas has no state premium subsidy, reinsurance program, public option or individual mandate. It does require “premium alignment,” which builds the cost of cost-sharing reductions into silver-plan prices, and it lowered that add-on for 2027.
• Medicaid: Arkansas expanded Medicaid in 2014 and runs it as ARHOME, which uses Medicaid money to buy private Marketplace plans for adults up to 138% of the poverty level and covers more than 200,000 Arkansans. ARHOME’s federal waiver expires at the end of 2026. Federal officials told the state they wouldn’t approve the renewal as submitted, citing budget rules in the 2025 federal budget law, and in late August 2026 Arkansas asked for a two-year extension. Work requirements had a soft start on July 1, 2026, and penalties can begin January 1, 2027, for adults who don’t log 80 hours a month of work, school, job training or volunteering and aren’t exempt; see Medicaid work requirements. ARKids First covers children up to 216% of the poverty level.

When to enroll

Arkansas follows the HealthCare.gov schedule. Open enrollment for 2027 runs from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027, and December 15 is the deadline for a plan that starts January 1. For ways to trim what you pay, see how to lower your Marketplace premium.

Other options in Arkansas

• Job-based coverage, which usually costs less when it’s offered.
• ARHOME for adults up to 138% of the poverty level and ARKids First for children; see health insurance for low-income families.
• Medicare at 65.

Health insurance costs in nearby states: Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. You can also compare health insurance costs in every state.

Check what 2027 Marketplace plans cost in your part of Arkansas: compare quotes by ZIP code.

Frequently asked questions

What is ARHOME?

ARHOME, short for Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me, is the state’s Medicaid expansion. It uses Medicaid money to buy private Marketplace plans for adults with income up to 138% of the poverty level.

Does Arkansas have Medicaid work requirements?

Yes. A soft launch started July 1, 2026, and penalties can start January 1, 2027. ARHOME adults who aren’t exempt will need to log 80 hours a month of work, school, job training or volunteering.

Are Arkansas premiums going up in 2027?

Yes, but by less than in most states. Proposed increases average about 6.0% to 7.6% before subsidies, depending on the calculation, with requests from 3.1% to 15.9% by plan family, and they hadn’t been approved as of late September 2026.

What does a 40-year-old pay for health insurance in Arkansas?

Before subsidies, the 2026 benchmark silver plan averaged $774 a month. With a $40,000 income, a tax credit of about $487 would bring the cost down to about $287 a month.

This article is general information, not insurance or tax advice. Arkansas premiums vary by county, age, income and plan, and 2027 rates were still proposed when this was written. Last reviewed September 2026.