ARKids First Health is a health insurance program for low- and medium-income families located in Arkansas. It currently helps more than 70,000 kids who are now covered by one out of two available medical insurance plans. Both of these plans cover basic and additional medical care and should be strongly considered if you're in a low- or medium-income family.

ARKids First Health insurance currently features two possible plans: Plan A and Plan B, which depends on your monthly and annual family income. After you've carefully read all of the requirements, which you can find at the bottom of this text, you can apply at your local health department. Even if you're not sure which ARKids insurance plan you qualify for, you'll be automatically signed up for the appropriate plan according to your financial status.

After you've applied for one of the two possible ARKids health insurance plans, you'll get your own ARKids First Card. You'll be obligated to carry this card each time your child needs medical care. There are two different cards, for each of the two plans. After you've been approved by your local health department, you should get a letter which will give you additional instructions as well as information on additional photos or documents to get your health insurance card. Also beware that loaning your card, or borrowing it from someone else is strongly forbidden and punishable by laws of the State of Arkansas.

You should also know that by having an ARKids card you'll need to pick your Primary Care Physician (PCP). By having your own primary care physician you'll simplify many administrative processes regarding medical care. This way, your child will also get much higher quality care, since your own physician can properly track health of your child through a certain period of time. Finally, if it happens that you need a medical care by a specialist, your PCP is the one who needs to refer you. Also beware that you pick a primary care physician who is a provider of ARKids program, but you should get more information on this by your local health care department.

ARKids First health insurance covers wide range of medical services, which means that you won't have to pay for them. Before proceeding with the explanation of some of the ARKids benefits, you should know that these benefits can sometimes change so keep track on these. If you already use this program, than you'll probably get a letter from your local health department by which you'll be notified of any possible changes. If you've got any additional questions regarding any of the covered medical services, you can call ARKids First office: 1-888-474-8275.

Benefits you can possibly get by using ARKids insurance could be limited to a monthly or annual basis. This means that you can use a particular service only a few times a month or in a year, after which you'll be asked to pay for it. This limit is different for each of the covered medical services.

Now, we'll explain some of the medical services which are covered by ARKids medical insurance. One of these are ambulance services which is transportation from the place of an emergency to a hospital, as well as from one hospital to another. Ambulatory surgeries are also covered and those are minor surgeries which don't require overnight hospital stay. Other services are many kinds of therapies like physiological, speech or occupational therapy, as well as behavioral or physical therapy. Another important service is a dental care, which is also covered by ARKids insurance (Plan A).

There is a large list of benefits and covered medical services by ARKids insurance, so make sure you get a proper documentation in your local health department, so you can stay up to date. You can also visit the ARKids First webpage for a complete list and detailed information. There could be also some differences in Plan A and Plan B, where plan A usually completely covers these services unlike Plan B which might cover some of them only partly.

Eligibility Requirements

In general, ARKids First medical insurance is intended for low- and medium-income families. The two available plans are ARKids A (which is intended for low-income families) and ARKids B (for medium-income families).

ARKids A is a plan divided into two sub-plans: one for children under the age of 6 and other for age 6 and older. Depending on the family size and the annual income, you should be below the limit intended for this plan. You can check those limits through this chart. This plan usually covers a wide range of possible medical services, which are completely covered by your medical insurance.

ARKids B is intended for medium-income families and the eligibility requirements are quite similar to the previous plan. The only difference is that your family needs to have higher annual income. You can find these limits also at on ARKids eligibility page. These limits are maximum annual or monthly income figures. This means that you'll need to have an income which is above the limit for ARKids A but bellow the limit for ARKids B plan.

When applying for ARKids medical insurance, you don't need to choose the right plan at that point. You will need to show all your financial documents, after which you'll be automatically put in appropriate medical insurance plan.

AR Kids First Health Application Instructions

There are several different ways to apply for one of the available ARKids insurance plans:

• You can visit the ARKids webpage, where you can find all of the available information as well as links which will take you to online form made by Department of Human Services of Arkansas. You can not only apply there, but you can fill out the form to see if you are eligible for ARKids insurance plans.
• You can also apply by sending a written application. Call ARKids office, 1-888-474-3257, to ask for application form which will you'll receive by mail. Fill out the form and simply send it back or you can even bring it by yourself.
• Application forms could be also found at your local health department, so this is also another way to get your own copy.

By applying to one of the ARKids insurance plans, you'll need to show some documents about yourself and your family by which you'll get approval for Plan A or Plan B of this insurance. These documents are: your birth certificate, paycheck stubs for each of the family member who has a job, Social Security card, Insurance policies, bank books and other documents which will show your financial status. This is needed because your financial status, as well as the size of your family, are the information which will put you in one of the ARKids medical insurance plans. You can look at these charts at by clicking here.