The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a five-year extension of the “Arkansas Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA)-like Section 1115 Demonstration.” This extension allows the state to continue receiving federal financial participation (FFP) for providing coverage of services, in home settings, to children (age 18 years or younger) with certain disabilities who would otherwise be at risk of or require institutional care and who would also otherwise be eligible for Medicaid under section 134 of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act. Arkansas uses section 1115 authority to provide coverage to TEFRA-like children, but with a condition of coverage that monthly premiums are assessed for custodial parent(s)/guardian(s) of eligible children with annual family income over 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
This demonstration extension is effective January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030. Today’s approval and other administrative documents can be found on the Medicaid.gov demonstration page.
