Appeals court schedules arguments in state Medicaid case

The Arizona Court of Appeals has scheduled oral arguments for Oct. 19 in the lawsuit against cuts to the state’s Medicaid system.

The Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, Arizona Center for Disability Law and the William E. Morris Institute for Justice are challenging an August ruling in Maricopa County Superior Court that allowed an enrollment freeze for childless adults in the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System to go forward.

Judge Mark Brain ruled that Proposition 204, a 2000 voter mandate that expanded AHCCCS coverage, could not force the Legislature to appropriate additional funds to the Medicaid system. The plaintiffs argued that the language in Prop. 204 clearly requires the state provide to provide whatever funds necessary in order to provide AHCCCS coverage for all Arizonans who earn up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level.

The freeze went into effect in July. The state expects to save about $200 million dollars from the freeze, which is estimated to cut about 100,000 people from the AHCCCS rolls through attrition by the end of fiscal year 2012.