Arkansas Medicaid Fee Schedule: Rates, CPT Codes & Provider

There’s no single Arkansas Medicaid reimbursement rate. Get that straight before you go looking for one.

The Arkansas Medicaid fee schedule is really a collection of schedules. Reimbursement amounts, maximum allowable amounts, organized by provider type and procedure. Rates tie to the date of service. The schedule alone doesn’t guarantee coverage or payment — it’s a reference point, not a promise.

The official source is the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS), Division of Medical Services (DMS). Its fee-schedule system holds current and archived rates across dozens of provider categories.

Physician, dentist, therapist, hospital, DME supplier, biller, practice manager, or a Medicaid member trying to make sense of a bill — whoever you are, the rate you need depends on provider type, procedure code, modifiers, date of service, billing circumstances, and the applicable Medicaid policy. All of it matters. None of it can be skipped.

Where to Find the Official Arkansas Medicaid Fee Schedule

Start with the Arkansas DHS Fee Schedules page. It’s built for providers, and it splits into two buckets: Current Fee Schedules and Archived Fee Schedules.

You’ll find categories for physician, dental, hospital, occupational/physical/speech therapy, DME, FQHC, RHC, home health, hospice, laboratory, radiology, transportation — and a long list of specialized services beyond that.

Important 2026 Schedule Dates

Arkansas DHS doesn’t update every provider category on the same day. Some run in January, others in May. Here’s how the current listing breaks down:

Provider/service type	Example 2026 run date
Ambulatory Surgical Center	May 27, 2026
Certified Nurse-Midwife	May 13, 2026
CRNA	May 13, 2026
Dental	January 28, 2026
FQHC	May 13, 2026
Home Health	May 13, 2026
Hospital	May 13, 2026
Nurse Practitioner	May 13, 2026
OT/PT/Speech	May 27, 2026
Physician	May 13, 2026
Primary Care Physician	May 13, 2026
Prosthetics/DME/Orthotics	May 13, 2026
RHC	May 13, 2026
Transportation	May 13, 2026

Schedules get corrected. Updated. Revised without much fanfare. Always check the current state listing before you rely on a number.

Also Check Arkansas Medicaid Income Limits Before You Apply

Which Arkansas Medicaid Fee Schedule Should You Use?

Two things decide it: who’s providing the service, and what’s being billed.

Provider/service	Relevant schedule	Common coding
Physician	Physician	CPT/HCPCS
Dentist	Dental	CDT
Hospital	Hospital	Revenue/CPT/HCPCS
Therapist	OT/PT/Speech	CPT/HCPCS
DME supplier	Prosthetics/DME/Orthotics	HCPCS
Laboratory	Independent Laboratory	CPT/HCPCS
FQHC	FQHC	Encounter/procedure codes
RHC	Rural Health Clinic	Encounter/procedure codes
Nurse practitioner	Nurse Practitioner	CPT/HCPCS
Transportation provider	Transportation	Applicable procedure codes

Arkansas DHS keeps these resources separate for good reason. Not every Medicaid service runs through the same reimbursement methodology. Treat them as interchangeable and you’ll land on the wrong number.

How to Check an Arkansas Medicaid Reimbursement Rate

Already have a CPT, HCPCS, CDT, or other procedure code in hand? Work through it this way:

Identify the provider type.
Find the procedure code being billed.
Check applicable modifiers.
Confirm the date of service.
Open the appropriate Arkansas DHS fee schedule.
Locate the procedure code and applicable billing combination.
Check the Medicaid maximum or listed reimbursement amount.
Review the appropriate provider manual.
Check coverage, eligibility, and prior-authorization requirements.
Compare the schedule information with the actual claim payment.

Date of service matters more than most people expect. Arkansas Medicaid rates are date-of-service effective. An older claim can carry a completely different rate than what’s showing on today’s schedule.

Fee Schedule vs. Procedure Code Table vs. Provider Manual

Three different tools. Three different jobs.

Resource	What it helps determine
Fee schedule	Reimbursement/max allowed amount information
Procedure Code Table	Current payable procedure-code information
Provider Manual	Billing rules, modifiers, coverage and provider-specific requirements

Arkansas DHS publishes procedure-code tables separately from fee schedules, and both hinge on the claim’s date of service. Two links worth bookmarking:

Arkansas DHS Procedure Code Tables
Arkansas DHS Provider Manuals

Why This Distinction Matters

Finding a CPT or HCPCS code in a table doesn’t mean the claim gets paid. That’s a coding question, not a payment guarantee.

And finding a dollar figure on a fee schedule doesn’t confirm the service is covered for a specific beneficiary. It doesn’t confirm the provider will actually collect that exact amount, either.

Does Arkansas Medicaid Pay the Listed Maximum?

Not necessarily. Arkansas DHS reimburses the lesser of the amount billed or the Medicaid maximum.

Say a service has a Medicaid maximum of $100, and the provider bills $80. Medicaid doesn’t round up to $100 just because that’s the ceiling. It pays the lower figure — the billed amount — subject to whatever other claim conditions apply.

Other factors can shift the final number too:

Beneficiary eligibility
Provider eligibility
Benefit limitations
Frequency limits
Billing instructions
Third-party liability
Age restrictions
Prior authorization
Applicable copayments or coinsurance
Procedure-code and modifier requirements

What Does $0.00 Mean on an Arkansas Medicaid Fee Schedule?

Here’s one that trips people up constantly: a $0.00 Medicaid maximum does not mean Medicaid pays zero dollars.

Arkansas DHS flags these as manually priced. Not noncovered. Not a guaranteed $0 payment. Manually priced — meaning someone reviews it individually instead of pulling from a fixed rate table.

Billers especially shouldn’t read $0.00 as a dead end. It’s a different process. Not a denial.

Arkansas Medicaid Physician, Dental, Therapy and DME Rates

Physician Medicaid Rates

The physician fee schedule covers physician-related services and runs on CPT and HCPCS coding. What you actually get paid comes down to the code, the modifiers attached, and the date of service.

Dental Medicaid Rates

Arkansas keeps a dedicated dental schedule. Dental billing typically involves CDT codes plus its own set of provider requirements.

Patient searching for Medicaid dental rates? Keep this in mind: a fee schedule is not a personal cost estimate. What you owe depends on your coverage and eligibility, not just the listed rate.

Therapy Reimbursement

Occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology all fall under one dedicated schedule. ABA and other specialized services often have their own separate resources — worth checking before you assume OT/PT/Speech covers it.

DME Reimbursement

Durable medical equipment runs through the Prosthetics/DME/Orthotics schedule. HCPCS coding drives most of this category. Getting the code right is half the battle.

Arkansas Medicaid Fee-for-Service vs. Managed Care

Assuming every claim pays out according to a standard fee-for-service schedule is one of the most common problems people create here.

Arkansas Medicaid runs multiple delivery arrangements, including fee-for-service (FFS) and managed-care programs like PASSE. DHS maintains its own set of PASSE provider resources — manuals, fee schedules, procedure-code tables — kept separate from the standard FFS materials.

Before you estimate a payment, work through this sequence:

Who is the payer? What program applies? → Is the service subject to a published Arkansas Medicaid rate? → What contract or methodology applies?

A state fee-schedule number isn’t automatically the final word under every managed-care arrangement. Don’t treat it like one.

FQHC and RHC Reimbursement Can Be Different

Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics deserve their own callout here.

These providers often operate under reimbursement methodologies that don’t match ordinary physician fee-for-service billing. Apply a generic physician rate to an FQHC or RHC claim and you’ll land on the wrong answer.

Researching one of these claims? Go straight to the FQHC or RHC-specific resources. Don’t extrapolate from physician rates.

Why Did Arkansas Medicaid Pay Less Than the Fee Schedule?

A listed fee schedule amount is a reference point, not a promise. Payment can come in lower for several reasons:

The amount billed was below the Medicaid maximum.
The procedure code or modifier was different.
Coverage or benefit limitations applied.
Prior authorization requirements weren’t satisfied.
The member’s eligibility differed on the date of service.
Another payer or third-party liability affected the claim.
The service was subject to a different payment methodology.
The claim used an incorrect or outdated rate/code.
Managed care or another applicable arrangement affected reimbursement.

Disputing a claim? Pull the remittance information and line it up against the fee schedule, procedure-code table, and provider manual together. Not just one of them.

Current vs. Archived Arkansas Medicaid Rates

For historical research, use the schedule that matches the claim’s date of service. Not whatever PDF happens to be newest.

Arkansas DHS keeps archived fee schedules specifically for this. That’s the whole reason they exist.

Example: A provider researching a claim from an earlier year. The workflow runs like this:

Date of service → applicable historical schedule → procedure code → modifier → applicable payment rules → claim result

Pull today’s rate for an older claim and your estimate will be wrong. Simple as that.

Common Arkansas Medicaid Billing Mistakes

A short list of what trips people up most often:

Using an outdated fee schedule
Choosing the wrong provider category
Looking only at the procedure code and ignoring modifiers
Treating the fee schedule as a coverage policy
Assuming the listed maximum is guaranteed payment
Interpreting $0.00 as automatic nonpayment
Ignoring the date of service
Assuming FFS and managed care operate identically
Failing to review the provider manual
Ignoring prior authorization requirements

Arkansas Medicaid and Local Provider Searches

The fee schedule itself is statewide. A physician in Little Rock and a physician in Fort Smith work off the same rates. Location doesn’t change the number.

Local searches come into play when your goal shifts from rate research to finding an actual provider. Something like:

“Medicaid dentist in Little Rock”
“Medicaid doctor in Fort Smith”
“Medicaid therapist in Bentonville”
“Arkansas Medicaid provider near me”

Those searches need provider participation data and location info. A fee schedule alone won’t answer them.

Quick Decision Guide: Which Rate Should I Check?

Got a claim in front of you? Run through this:

Identify provider type → identify CPT/HCPCS/CDT/revenue code → check modifiers → confirm date of service → select current or archived schedule → check procedure-code status → review provider manual → check authorization and coverage → determine FFS or managed-care context → compare with actual claim payment

Skip the search for a single “Arkansas Medicaid average rate.” It doesn’t exist. Looking for it wastes time you don’t have.

Also Check Arkansas Medicaid Income Limits Before You Apply

FAQs About Arkansas Medicaid reimbursement rates

What is the Arkansas Medicaid fee schedule?

A collection of provider-specific reimbursement schedules showing Medicaid maximums or applicable rate information for covered services. Rates are date-of-service effective and don’t independently guarantee coverage or payment.

How do I find Arkansas Medicaid rates?

Start with the official Arkansas DHS fee-schedule page. Pick the right provider category, find the procedure code, then check the schedule that matches your date of service.

Does Arkansas Medicaid pay the maximum listed rate?

No. Medicaid pays the lesser of the amount billed or the Medicaid maximum, subject to coverage and claim rules.

Are Arkansas Medicaid rates based on the date of service?

Yes. The applicable rate depends on when the service was actually provided, not when you’re looking it up.

What does $0.00 mean on the fee schedule?

It usually means the service is manually priced. Don’t read it as a guaranteed $0 payment.

Does every Arkansas Medicaid provider use the same fee schedule?

No. Physician, dental, hospital, therapy, DME, FQHC, and RHC services each run on separate schedules.

Where can I find old Arkansas Medicaid reimbursement rates?

The archived fee schedules on the official DHS page. Select the one matching your claim’s date of service.

How do I look up an Arkansas Medicaid CPT code?

Always check the Arkansas DHS Procedure Code Tables first, then cross-reference the fee schedule and provider manual for reimbursement and billing policies.

Does the fee schedule guarantee that a claim will be paid?

No. Codes and fee-schedule amounts don’t guarantee payment, coverage, or the final allowed amount.

Conclusion

A fee schedule won’t hand you the answer. It hands you a starting point, and what you do with it — checking the provider type, the code, the modifier, the date of service — decides whether the number you land on actually holds up.

Cross-reference before you trust anything. And when the DHS page and someone’s summary of it disagree, believe the DHS page.

Official Resources

Disclaimer: Fee schedules for Medicaids are reference tools and do not independently establish eligibility rules, coverage, authorization, or guaranteed payment. Rates and rules can change. Always confirm the applicable Arkansas DHS schedule and provider guidance for the specific date of service.