Arkansas plans to extend supportive-living benefits to more than 2,400 residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are waiting for a full Community and Employment Support waiver, under a $17 million framework announced by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The administration says services should begin no later than January 2027.
The proposal is significant because supportive living—the in-home assistance that can help with bathing, meals, medication routines and participation in community life—is the most frequently requested benefit among people on the waiting list. But the plan is not the same as granting every applicant a full waiver slot. Families already can receive some Medicaid services while they wait, and the new framework would add supportive living without automatically providing the complete package of waiver benefits.
Arkansas Department of Human Services officials said the benefit would be delivered through the state's Provider-Led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity program, known as PASSE. That program combines Medicaid-funded physical health, behavioral health and developmental-disability services through managed-care organizations. The administration has not yet published a final financing plan; it said DHS would work with lawmakers on the funding mechanism.
The distinction matters for the 2,464 people identified by the governor's office as waiting for a CES waiver. Families and disability advocates told the Arkansas Advocate that access to supportive living would ease a serious burden, particularly for relatives providing unpaid care, but they also urged the state to continue expanding full waiver access. Arkansas caps the program at 8,233 recipients, and applicants can remain on the list for years.
The new framework follows a previous effort to reduce the backlog. Then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson directed $37.6 million toward the waiting list in 2021, when it exceeded 3,000 people. According to the Advocate's review, those applicants had begun receiving services by 2025, but new applications continued to replenish the list.
Provider capacity and staff recruitment will shape whether the January target translates into dependable care statewide. A DHS-commissioned home- and community-based services rate study found that the cost of providing supportive living was about 23% above insurer reimbursement. Lawmakers responded with Act 1023 of 2025, which required the state to study rates and implement increases supported by the findings. DHS has said updated caregiver rates are expected to take effect January 1.
For affected households, the immediate question is how DHS will determine eligibility, authorize hours and connect families with providers once the framework is funded. Those details will also determine whether rural families can find enough workers to use an approved benefit. The administration's announcement sets the direction and a January deadline, but detailed operational guidance and legislative financing remain necessary before families can know the amount and timing of help they will receive.
