Medicaid plans › Arkansas
Arkansas Medicaid Managed-Care Plans for Providers
Enrollments are billed 50% at the start and 50% at submission; everything else 100% at the start.
Arkansas Medicaid is run by the Arkansas Department of Human Services. 47,869 people were enrolled in its 4 managed-care plans in 2024. To see their patients, a provider enrolls with Arkansas Medicaid through the Arkansas Medicaid provider portal (Gainwell), then applies to each plan separately.
| Plan | Members (2024) | Share | Parent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empower Healthcare Solutions | 15,895 | 33.2% | In-state |
| Summit Community Care | 14,657 | 30.6% | Elevance Health |
| Arkansas Total Care | 13,394 | 28% | Centene |
| CareSource | 3,923 | 8.2% | CareSource |
How Joining Works in Arkansas
First the state: Arkansas Medicaid enrollment through the Arkansas Medicaid provider portal (Gainwell), which gives you the Medicaid ID every plan asks for. Then the plans: each takes its own participation request and credentials you from your CAQH ProView (DataSpring) profile. 3 parent companies run plans here, and plans owned by the same company still contract state by state.
How to Join Each Arkansas Plan
Summit Community Care (Elevance Health): Elevance Health plans take participation requests through the plan's provider site for that state, most of them now inside Availity Essentials, and credential from your CAQH ProView (DataSpring) profile. Each state is its own contract.
Arkansas Total Care (Centene): Centene runs this plan alongside its Ambetter and Wellcare products. Each Centene plan takes its own contract request on the plan's provider website, credentials from your CAQH ProView (DataSpring) profile, and will not load a provider without the state Medicaid ID.
CareSource (CareSource): CareSource takes participation requests through its provider pages for each state and credentials from your CAQH ProView (DataSpring) profile.
Empower Healthcare Solutions: This plan is run in-state rather than by a national carrier, so participation requests go to the plan's own provider relations or contracting team, listed on its provider website.
Also in Arkansas: Medicare, Arkansas Medicaid and commercial credentialing.
Questions
Which Arkansas Medicaid plan is the largest?
Empower Healthcare Solutions, with 15,895 members in 2024, 33.2% of the 47,869 people enrolled in Arkansas's Medicaid managed-care plans.
Do I have to join every Arkansas Medicaid plan?
No. Each plan is a separate contract. Practices usually start with the two or three largest plans in their county, then add others as patients ask for them. All of them require Arkansas Medicaid enrollment first.
Membership from KFF, Medicaid MCO Enrollment by Plan and Parent Firm, 2024. Plans change when the state rebids its contracts; we confirm the current list on every file.