Medicaid is the single largest provider of health insurance for individuals and families across the nation. Across all Medicaid programs in our state, more than 850,000 Arkansans receive services covered by Medicaid. In a deeply rural state, Medicaid plays a particularly important role in ensuring access to health care where many residents face barriers such as limited provider availability, transportation challenges, and higher rates of chronic health conditions.

Recent federal policy changes, particularly the passage of H.R.1 (commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), fundamentally alter the Medicaid expansion and are expected to prompt massive cuts in funding to states and losses in coverage. These changes raise concerns about the future of Medicaid coverage and access to care for Arkansas, making it more important than ever to involve Arkansans impacted by dramatic shifts in the conversation around coverage and access to care.

From October 2025 to March 2026, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families traveled across the state, talking with Arkansans about their experiences being insured through Medicaid. Arkansas Advocates staff held nine focus groups with a total of 73 participants who reside in Arkansas.

In these moderated discussions, participants shared what it means to navigate the health care system with Medicaid coverage and how that access shapes their ability to work, care for their families, and maintain their health. These conversations illustrated both the critical role Medicaid plays in keeping families afloat and the barriers that remain, from coverage confusion to administrative hurdles and gaps in care.

This publication elevates these firsthand accounts as critical evidence. By listening directly to Arkansans across diverse communities, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families aims to ground policy conversations in the realities that average Arkansans face every day. Their stories illustrate an urgent picture that access to health care is not just about covered services on paper, but also about whether health care is truly accessible.