Arkansas has made significant investments to strengthen its primary care physician workforce over the past decade. New medical schools have opened in the state, residency program slots have increased, and loan forgiveness programs have been established to incentivize residency graduates to remain in the state to practice. Despite these efforts, access to a usual source of care (i.e., a place where one goes for routine healthcare needs) remains a challenge for many Arkansans, according to a new report.

Published February 12 by the Milbank Memorial Fund, the report, “Investing in Primary Care: The Missing Strategy in America’s Fight Against Chronic Disease,” evaluates states’ primary care performance. Among its findings is that 18% of Arkansas adults report not having a usual source of care, which is comparable to the national estimate of 17%. That means that nearly 1 in 5 Arkansans do not have a consistent way of interacting with the state’s healthcare system.

Access to a Usual Source of Care

Nationwide, the report finds that among adults with chronic disease, having a usual source of care is associated with lower odds of hospitalization and lower total spending on health care. These findings are particularly relevant for Arkansas, where chronic disease prevalence remains high. The most recent America’s Health Rankings report from the United Health Foundation ranked Arkansas 44th among all 50 states and the District Columbia for its percentage (15%) of adults with three or more chronic conditions — such as arthritis, diabetes, or cancer — in 2023, with the top-ranked state having the lowest percentage.

The Arkansas Primary Care Payment Improvement Working Group, established under Act 483 of 2025, is currently examining primary care investment in the state. The group, which includes a representative from ACHI, is tasked with measuring current primary care spending, evaluating the adequacy of the primary care delivery system, and recommending spending targets for Medicaid and commercial insurers. These efforts align with national recommendations to track and increase primary care investment, an issue we highlighted in a previous post.

Arkansas’s Primary Care Workforce

The country’s primary care workforce supply is another focus of the Milbank report. The report estimates that Arkansas had 58 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents in 2023, below the national average of 68 per 100,000 residents. The Milbank report also finds that 29% of Arkansas physicians were working in primary care in 2023, compared to 27% nationally.

The state’s higher-than-average share of physicians choosing primary care is encouraging, but long-term retention and geographic distribution remain challenges. ACHI developed the Arkansas Primary Care Physician Workforce Dashboard, an interactive tool that allows users to view data on primary care physicians practicing in Arkansas. The dashboard — which uses a broader definition of “primary care physician” than the Milbank report’s — shows that per capita rates of primary care physicians vary widely between urban and rural counties, and that two counties, Montgomery and Newton, had no active full-time primary care physician in 2022. The dashboard also shows that 26% of fill-time primary care physicians in the state were 60 or older in 2022, raising concerns about future supply as many approach retirement.

The Milbank report finds that in communities with higher levels of social deprivation — measured by the social deprivation index, a composite indicator of socioeconomic hardship — primary care physician availability in Arkansas is lower on average than in similarly deprived communities nationwide. Given the high burden of chronic disease among Arkansans, this is a concerning finding.

Recommendations

States that invest in primary care, as highlighted in the Milbank report, experience downstream improvements in population health and lower healthcare costs. Arkansas has established the infrastructure to evaluate and potentially increase those investments. ACHI will continue to track physician supply, distribution, and access to help inform primary care policy discussions.

Find more information about Arkansas’s healthcare workforce on our topic page.

Former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson, who led the Razorbacks to the 1994 national title, will be immortalized with a statue outside Bud Walton Arena, the school said Wednesday.

Richardson was on the court at halftime of No. 20 Arkansas’ 105-85 win over Texas in the team’s regular-season home finale Wednesday night when athletic director Hunter Yurachek surprised him and told him the school had commissioned a statue to commemorate his achievements.

Per the school’s announcement, work on the statue is set to begin soon.

“Coach Richardson’s impact on the game of basketball and our state is immeasurable,” Yurachek said in a statement. “He represented Arkansas with a toughness and intense work ethic that endeared him to our fans while changing the lives of numerous athletes, coaches and staff under his direction. His ’40 minutes of Hell’ changed college basketball and led to the 1994 national championship that changed Arkansas and our university forever. Coach Richardson will stand tall outside the arena for the rest of time.”

BUILD THE STATUE. LIVING LEGEND. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/2nJPh1d6zo

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) March 5, 2026

Richardson coined the phrase “40 Minutes of Hell” in reference to the ferocious, full-court defense his Arkansas teams played during his tenure (1985-2002). Between Arkansas and his first Division I job at Tulsa, Richardson amassed 508 wins (389 with the Razorbacks), reached the Final Four three times and secured Arkansas’ only national title.

Richardson also was a member of the Texas Western (now UTEP) teams that preceded the school’s victory over Kentucky in 1966, when five Black players started an NCAA championship game for the first time and won. That game paved the way for Black players to compete at schools that had previously rejected them.

Richardson, one of six SEC coaches to win a national title since 1990, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.

After Wednesday’s game, current Arkansas coach John Calipari joked that he’s contractually obligated to clean the statue once it’s finished.

“Which I will do in a pleasant way because I love it,” he said. “He’s been so good to me since I’ve been here.”

Richardson and Arkansas were not on good terms when they divorced in 2002. But the two sides have repaired the relationship over the years. The university renamed the floor at Bud Walton Arena “Nolan Richardson Court” in 2019. Richardson praised Calipari’s hiring in 2024 after he left Kentucky, and he has been around the program since Calipari’s arrival.

“He should have been had a statue, I think,” said Trevon Brazile, who finished with 28 points on his senior night Wednesday. “They won the national championship.”

Added Darius Acuff Jr., who finished with 28 points and 13 assists against the Longhorns: “It’s great to see that for sure. Coach Richardson is a big part of our team. He’s been to a couple of our practices, so it’s always good to see [him]. He’s a legend.”