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In battle to cut Medicaid, Arizona faces new challenge
Now that U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has said Arizona doesn’t need a waiver from the federal government to remove 250,000 patients from AHCCCS, the timing and mechanism used in removing those people will be key to a planned legal challenge from patients contending to be harmed by the cuts. Sebelius is flanked by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Capitol Quotes: Feb. 18, 2011
“I honestly don’t know.” — OSPB Director John Arnold, when asked whether the jobs bill would generate more revenue than it costs the state.
Sebelius: Arizona doesn’t need waiver to cut 250,000 people from AHCCCS
Arizona officials who spent nearly a year railing against the federal government for not allowing the state to cut its Medicaid rolls got some startling news Tuesday: Federal permission isn’t necessary for the state to drop 250,000 people from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.
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.
It was one of those times when ‘every’ didn’t really mean every
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.
Brewer requests AHCCCS waiver
Gov. Jan Brewer on Tuesday formally requested a waiver from the federal government that would allow Arizona to cut Medicaid eligibility, which is prohibited by the 2010 federal health care law.
Brewer signs bill, plans to apply for Medicaid waiver Monday
Declaring that her plan to drastically cut funding for health coverage is Arizona’s “only option” to stabilize its budget, Gov. Jan Brewer promptly on Friday signed a bill that gives her the authority to ask the federal government’s permission to implement her proposal.
Republican, Democrat agreement moves Sebelius nomination forward
Sen. Harry Reid's weeklong attempt to call for a vote on the nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services is expected to come to a close today due to an agreement between the senate majority leader and Senate Republicans.
