Institutional and community pathways use related rules
For nursing-facility coverage, DHS policy requires a functional-need decision before services can be authorized. The Office of Long-Term Care makes functional-need decisions for nursing-facility applicants and recipients, and the decision is reported on DHS-0704, Evaluation of Medical Need Criteria (DHS Medical Services Policy Manual, F-151 and H-440).
ARChoices in Homecare is the principal home-and-community alternative for seniors and adults with physical disabilities. DHS describes it as a Medicaid program for people age 65 or older or people age 21 through 64 with a physical disability who meet financial criteria, intermediate nursing-home-admission level of care, and a need for at least one service (DHS ARChoices in Homecare).
Living Choices is Arkansas's assisted-living alternative. DHS says applicants must be age 65 or older, or age 21 through 64 with a physical disability, meet financial criteria, meet intermediate nursing-home-admission criteria, and need at least one available service (DHS Living Choices).
Income is a separate eligibility gate
The 2026 DHS chart puts the LTSS income limit at $2,982 per month for an applicant and treats applicants as individuals for income purposes. It also lists $2,000 individual and $3,000 couple resource limits for Nursing Facility, Assisted Living, ARChoices, and the DDS Waiver (DHS 2026 Medicaid Quick Reference Chart).
DHS policy permits an individual over the federal cap to establish an irrevocable Miller Income Trust for medical-need care in a nursing facility, assisted living facility, or PACE. The trust cannot solve an excess-resource problem, and the policy requires the qualifying income and trust mechanics to be handled correctly each month (DHS Medical Services Policy Manual, H-110–H-113).
Starting point: identify the care setting, obtain the required medical-need decision, then test the applicable financial rules. ARChoices and Living Choices are not simply ordinary Medicaid with a different provider location (
DHS LTSS overview).
Use current documents for an application
The public pages describe program routes, but an eligibility decision turns on the applicant's current income, resources, marital status, medical need, and care setting. Families should preserve records and confirm the live DHS requirements before moving money, entering a facility, or choosing a waiver route.
Not mutually exclusive. Most families combine two or three funding pillars — this one rarely stands alone.
The
Journey Assessment ranks all ten pillars against your specific situation and
recommends the top three.
