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.

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.

Gov. Jan Brewer is considering freezing Medicaid enrollment as early as April 1 for childless adults as part of a phase-out preparation for kicking 250,000 people off of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.

A long-sought meeting between Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius took 15 minutes on Monday and ended with a typical government response: Put it in writing.

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.

An influential legislator says Arizona should eliminate its Medicaid program because neither the cash-short state nor the debt-ridden federal government can afford it.

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.

Despite Gov. Jan Brewer’s insistence to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that Arizona had followed every single one of her suggestions for cutting Medicaid costs, AHCCCS still provides several optional services that could be eliminated without running afoul of federal law.

Answering a fiscal 911 call from the nation's governors, the Obama administration Thursday gave cash-strapped states a menu for cutting Medicaid spending, one of their biggest budget headaches.

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.