Arizona Week: Medicaid Cuts
Arizona Capitol Times reporter Jeremy Duda joins Arizona Week to discuss the proposed cuts to Arizona's Medicaid program.
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.
Ariz. Senate panel set to consider Medicaid repeal
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.
2nd person denied Ariz. transplant coverage dies
A second person denied transplant coverage by Arizona under a state budget cut has died, with this death "most likely" resulting from the coverage reduction, a hospital spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Arizona Legislature buckling to feds on health care spending
The Arizona Legislature has taken the first step to repeal cuts to health care programs in order to comply with the federal health care law and avoid losing nearly $8 billion in federal funding.
GOP takes aim at hospitals with competing health care measure
Republican lawmakers angry at a proposed ballot initiative backed by Arizona hospitals that would raise taxes for the wealthiest residents to pay for some health care programs are fighting back by proposing to instead tax hospitals and other providers.
Court ruling allows co-pays for AHCCCS patients
A judge's ruling that allows the state's Medicaid system to charge fees to some patients will generate an additional $21 million a year for Arizona's staggering budget deficits.
Health care law safeguards KidsCare, AHCCCS – budget will be $400 million short
Most Americans won't see any real impact from the new federal health care law for several years, but the effects will be immediate for the hundreds of thousands of Arizonans who were about to lose Medicaid coverage.
Health care bill may leave $400M hole in budget
Arizona's balanced budget lasted for about two days before the congressional health care bill took out a chunk that may total $400 million for the next fiscal year.
Brewer: Federal health care bill would exacerbate state’s problem
As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares for what may be its final vote on a health care bill, Republican Gov. Jan Brewer and Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema sounded off on the contentious proposal.