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Rural hospitals facing serious impact from AHCCCS budget cuts
With a few strokes of her pen, Gov. Jan Brewer approved massive cuts to health care funding and money the state gives to hospitals that treat large numbers of the poor and uninsured. While the move will be felt statewide, its most acute effect could be in the rural reaches of the state.
Taxes on smokes, Cokes and booze might save AHCCCS
Alcohol, tobacco and soft drinks have been targeted for tax increases as a group representing hospitals and health care providers searches for a revenue source that will pass muster with voters while generating enough money to maintain Arizona's Medicaid program.
Groups rally at Capitol against proposed health care cuts
John McFarland Jr. has spent seven years advising adults diagnosed with behavioral health issues, but before that he suffered from mental illness himself.
AHCCCS drains cash, stirs debate
Arizona's Medicaid program has become both a budget headache and a political football, with its costly burgeoning enrollment and the possibility that national health care legislation will add even more red ink on the deficit-plagued state's bottom line.
AZ, feds choose opposite directions on health care
As the federal government prepares to expand health care coverage to more Americans, Arizona may be looking to drastically cut back on its Medicaid program to help solve state budget problems.
Brewer suggests overhaul of AZ Medicaid program
Voters may get a chance to rethink the massive expansion of AHCCCS they approved in 2000, a move that could strip thousands of low-income Arizonans of healthcare coverage and provide an infusion of cash for the deficit-wracked state.
Budget gap grows as result of ‘unrealized savings’
Legislative budget analysts said last week that $165 million of the state budget deficit is due to "potential unrealized budget savings" that were assumed as part of the spending plan, which was designed to bridge a $3 billion shortfall. In short, several savings measures won't work as planned.
AHCCCS reports it might have to eliminate KidsCare
Lawmakers this year eliminated a health care program for middle-class parents, but now the state-run health insurance program for children is on the chopping block. The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System has reported it would have to eliminate the KidsCare program if it is required to trim 15 percent of its budget in the 2010 fiscal year.
Mental health meetings slated to resume
Gov. Jan Brewer is expected to meet with lawmakers and officials from the state’s health department later this week to discuss making reforms to the state’s behavioral health care system. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for June 23.
Lawmakers compromise with Brewer on health care spending
A five-month battle over health care spending between Gov. Jan Brewer and Republican leadership reached a breaking point early this week after Brewer asked lawmakers to set aside hundreds of millions of dollars of additional spending for state-run health care programs.
Increased unemployment causes flood of new AHCCCS applicants
More Arizonans than ever are visiting Casa Grande’s Sun Life Family Health Clinic, but not because they need to see a doctor. Instead, they’re there to enroll in the state-run Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) after falling victim to the economic downturn.
Deficit figure still a moving target
Lawmakers and budget officials have been estimating the deficit of the upcoming fiscal year at about $3 billion, even though the economy has continued a treacherous slide and state revenues have eroded at an alarming pace.
