2026 Arkansas Legislative Session Summary

2026 Arkansas Legislative Session Summary

Victory in the fight against cancer requires bold new public policies that promote cancer prevention, early detection of cancer, and expand access to quality, affordable health care. Lawmakers make many decisions that impact the lives of Arkansans impacted by cancer and their leadership is vital to defeating this disease.

In 2026, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) worked with the Arkansas Legislature in support of the following priorities:

Reducing the Toll of Tobacco: 

• Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Funding: ACS CAN worked to maintain funding for fact-based, statewide tobacco prevention and cessation programs. The Arkansas Legislature approved, and the governor signed into law, a 2026-2027 fiscal year budget to provide $11.8 million in funding for the Arkansas Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program.

Cancer Prevention and Early Detection 

• Breast and Cervical Cancer: ACS CAN worked to maintain funding of the state breast cancer screening and treatment program for low-income uninsured and underinsured women administered by the Arkansas Department of Health at $4.75 million.

Ensuring Access to Quality Care: 

• Medicaid Expansion: ACS CAN continued to advocate for the preservation of funding and access to Medicaid for low-income parents and adults, and the extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months.

For more information, contact: Matt Glanville, Oklahoma and Arkansas Government Relations Director  

ACS CAN   

[email protected] Phone: 405.301.6311 

 
ACS CAN is making cancer a top priority for public officials and candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. ACS CAN empowers advocates across the country to make their voices heard and influence evidence-based public policy change as well as legislative and regulatory solutions that will reduce the cancer burden. As the American Cancer Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, ACS CAN is critical to the fight for a world without cancer. For more information, please visit www.fightcancer.org.