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Year in Review: 2011 was a tumultuous political year, starting with tragedy in Tucson
Nobody would call 2011 a dull year for Arizona politics. The soap opera fans got Sen. Scott Bundgaard’s side-of-the-road scuffle, the conspiracy theorists had their hands full with the Independent Redistricting Commission, and those who delight in schadenfreude watched the fall of Senate President Russell Pearce.
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.
AHCCCS suit amended to include new plaintiffs
In a bid to overturn a partial enrollment freeze to the state’s Medicaid program, the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest amended its lawsuit in response to a judge’s ruling that the original plaintiffs did not have standing to sue.
Don’t ask, do yell: AHCCCS knew it might not need fed permission to cut patients, but state made a fuss anyway
On Feb. 15, when U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius informed Arizona that it could cut 250,000 people from Medicaid without federal permission, it wasn’t nearly as much of a surprise for Gov. Jan Brewer as it was for most Arizonans.
Legislators were genuinely surprised
Brewer and AHCCCS kept the information about the possible implications of the expiration of the demonstration waiver inhouse, and didn’t mention it to legislative leadership.
Ariz. Senate panel votes to kill Medicaid program
A divided Arizona Senate committee voted Wednesday to eliminate the cash-short state's Medicaid program and replace it with a much smaller system that would cover only a fraction of low-income people now served.
State to feds: Medicaid advice didn’t help
Maybe if the letter had started more warmly, with something like, “Dear Jan,” Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer would have responded less vehemently to the offer of assistance by Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
AZ lawmakers grapple with transplant coverage cut
Life or death consequences for dozens of Arizonans are butting up against the state's budget woes as legislators debate the elimination last fall of Medicaid coverage for some transplants — even as they consider additional health care cuts.
State cuts stop Phoenix man from getting new liver
Francisco Felix was prepped to get a new lifesaving liver at a Phoenix hospital Nov. 16, but returned home a couple hours later without the surgery. The 32-year-old Phoenix resident... […]
Medicaid benefits slashed this week for Arizonans
Arizonans who depend on the state's Medicaid system are facing big cuts in services.
No budget yet, but some details slipping out
Republican lawmakers hoped to have a budget plan approved by March 4, but were apparently unable to cobble together the support needed to paper over $3.4 billion in deficit.
