Trans Resource Navigator

Gender-affirming care in Arkansas

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Care for adults
Allowed
Care for people under 18
Banned
Arkansas Medicaid (including ARHOME) pays for hormones
Unclear
Arkansas Medicaid (including ARHOME) pays for surgery
Unclear
Private plans must cover care
No state rule

Adults 18 and older can legally get hormone therapy in Arkansas, including by informed consent at Planned Parenthood and by telehealth. Hormones, puberty blockers, surgery, and referrals for gender transition are banned for everyone under 18 (Act 626); a federal appeals court upheld the ban in August 2025. Insurers are not required to cover transition care at any age, and Arkansas has no shield law.

Draft from official sources, September 24, 2026. Not yet checked by a person. How we verify

On this page
  1. If you are under 18, or a parent
  2. Health centers near you
  3. Hormones by telehealth
  4. Clinics, programs, and funds
  5. Paying for care
  6. Rules for adults
  7. Laws and court cases
  8. Sources

If you are under 18, or a parent

Act 626 of 2021 (the SAFE Act, Ark. Code §§ 20-9-1501 to -1504), passed over the governor's veto, bars physicians and other health care professionals from providing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or gender transition surgery to anyone under 18, and from referring a minor for them. Exceptions cover differences of sex development and treating complications. Violations are unprofessional conduct subject to license discipline, and patients can sue. Public funds, state and local facilities, and Arkansas Medicaid may not pay for or provide this care to minors, and no health plan may cover it for minors.

A federal district court struck the law down in 2023, but on August 12, 2025 the full Eighth Circuit (en banc) reversed in Brandt v. Griffin and the law is in effect.

The Protecting Minors from Medical Malpractice Act (Act 274 of 2023, expanded by Act 979 of 2025) lets a person who received transition procedures, puberty blockers, or cross-sex hormones as a minor sue the provider up to 15 years after turning 18, and Act 979 extends this to mental health professionals who provide a "gender-affirming intervention."

[1][2][3][4]

Community health centers near you

These federally funded centers must see you whether or not you have insurance, and charge based on income. Many, but not all, prescribe hormone therapy. Call and ask for "gender-affirming care" or "hormone therapy."

Sorting by distance uses your location only on this device. It is never sent anywhere.

Hormones by telehealth

These services prescribe hormones through video visits for people in this state. Point of Pride pays for a year and a half of care with several of them each spring.

  • Plume

    PaidNo Medicaid18+

    Trans-led telehealth service providing informed-consent hormone therapy, lab orders, prescriptions, and letters for surgery and documents, by app and video visit. Self-pay only since January 2026. A Point of Pride HRT Access Fund partner.

    About $99 per month ($90 in NY and NJ), which includes visits, messaging, prescriptions, and document letters. Labs and medications are billed separately and are often cheap with GoodRx or at a community pharmacy. Free for 18 months if you win a Point of Pride HRT Access Fund grant.

  • Planned Parenthood

    Sliding scaleTakes insurance

    Many Planned Parenthood affiliates provide informed-consent gender-affirming hormone therapy alongside sexual and reproductive health care, on a sliding scale and with Medicaid. Most affiliates see adults 18 and older; a few see 16- and 17-year-olds with parental consent and a readiness letter. Many start hormone care by telehealth. Self-pay initial consults typically run about $120 to $250 before sliding-scale discounts.

Clinics, programs, and funds

Paying for care

Medicaid (Arkansas Medicaid (including ARHOME))[1][13]

State law bars Arkansas Medicaid from covering gender transition procedures for anyone under 18. We could not confirm the program's policy for adults; ask your plan or doctor before starting, and appeal any denial.

Apply for coverage

Private insurance[1][14]

Arkansas has no law requiring coverage of gender-affirming care. Ark. Code § 23-79-164 bans coverage for minors and says plans are not required to cover it for anyone. Plans governed by federal law (many employer plans) may have different rules. You can file a complaint with the Arkansas Insurance Department.

File an insurance complaint

The rules in detail

Rules for adultsNo Arkansas law bans gender-affirming care for adults 18 and older.

No Arkansas law bans gender-affirming care for adults 18 and older. But Ark. Code § 23-79-164(c) says health plans are not required to cover gender transition procedures, so check your plan before you start.

If you have little money or no insurance, in rough order:

  1. Planned Parenthood Great Plains offers hormone therapy to patients 18 and older at all its health centers, including Little Rock and Rogers, with no therapy letter. It takes most insurance and has financial counselors. Call 1-800-230-PLAN.
  2. Telehealth: Plume and QueerMed serve Arkansas. Point of Pride's HRT Access Fund can help pay.
  3. Community health centers charge on a sliding scale; find one at findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov and ask whether they prescribe hormones.
[1][5][8][9][10]
Laws and court cases1 court case, 3 laws

Brandt v. Griffin, No. 23-2681

The ban on transition care for minors is in effect.[2]

Families and doctors challenged Act 626. The district court permanently enjoined it in 2023; the en banc Eighth Circuit reversed on August 12, 2025. Last update 2025-08-12.

Sources

14 sources. Numbers in the text, like [1], point here.Show all
  1. Act 626 of 2021 (HB 1570), Arkansas SAFE ActArkansas General Assembly, Law. accessed
    “A health benefit plan under an insurance policy or other plan providing healthcare coverage in this state is not required to provide coverage for gender transition procedures.”
  2. Brandt v. Griffin, No. 23-2681 (8th Cir. Aug. 12, 2025) (en banc)U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Court. accessed
    “The judgment is reversed and the case remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
  3. Act 274 of 2023 (SB 199), Protecting Minors from Medical Malpractice ActArkansas General Assembly, Law. accessed
  4. Act 979 of 2025 (HB 1916), amending the Protecting Minors from Medical Malpractice ActArkansas General Assembly, Law. accessed
    “filed not later than fifteen (15) years after the date on which the minor turns eighteen (18) years of age”
  5. Gender Affirming CarePlanned Parenthood Great Plains, Organization. accessed
    “We offer gender-affirming hormone care for patients 18 years and older at all of our health centers.”
  6. Little Rock Aldersgate Road Health CenterPlanned Parenthood, Organization. accessed
  7. Rogers Health CenterPlanned Parenthood, Organization. accessed
  8. LocationsQueerMed, Organization. accessed
  9. Point of PrideOrganization. accessed
  10. Find a Health CenterHRSA, Official page. accessed
  11. HIV PreventionArkansas Department of Health, Official page. accessed
  12. Trans LifelineOrganization. accessed
  13. ACCESS ArkansasArkansas Department of Human Services, Official page. accessed
  14. File a complaintArkansas Insurance Department, Official page. accessed