Ariz. faces initial $3.8B Medicaid cost hike

TriValley Central ^ | March 26, 2010 | PAUL DAVENPORT

[greyfoxx39]

 Arizona must drop a plan to cut its Medicaid program’s generous eligibility and instead pay an additional $3.8 billion over the next three years under the federal health care overhaul, state officials reported Thursday.

Arizona also stands to pay billions of dollars more in subsequent years than less generous other states would have to pay, even after increased federal funding starts in 2014, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System said in a report.

Gov. Jan Brewer and the Republican-led Legislature included a rollback of AHCCCS eligibility to help balance the $8.5 billion budget for the next fiscal year. The rollback would have dropped 310,000 people, roughly a quarter of the 1.3 million people now served.

But AHCCCS officials concluded Thursday that the health care overhaul’s so-called “maintenance of effort” requirements require Arizona to keep its Medicaid program at current levels in order to keep getting federal dollars. They said the state will incur $3.8 billion of added costs for its Medicaid population before increased federal funding starts in 2014.

The report said the state also faces smaller added costs because it also must maintain a children’s health program, KidsCare, that was to be eliminated June 15 under the recently approved state budget.

The report’s finding supports and adds details to statements by Brewer and Republican legislative leaders that the state stands to incur significant, unaffordable costs as a result of the federal health care overhaul.

For the seven years starting in 2014, Arizona will have to spend an additional $7.8 billion, AHCCCS Director Tom Betlach said in the report.

“That is, in essence, over $1 billion per year in new unfunded federal mandates that will be imposed immediately on the state of Arizona,” he said.

If Arizona hadn’t expanded its eligibility and left it at the levels of most other states, its additional costs would be only $1.8 billion during the same seven-year period.

That estimate was based on congressional passage of the reconciliation bill modifying the overhaul bill that President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday.

[greyfoxx39]

Arizona, the home of Obama challenger, McCain.

[TexGuy]

Don’t pay it ...

[FlingWingFlyer]

This should just about finish up Janet Napolitano’s destruction of Arizona. I guess that’s why she got the hell out of here so fast.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Free stuff is great until you get the bill.

[henry_reardon]

hopefully future governor Dean Martin will require federal payroll taxes to be paid directly to the state, and then the state can send the appropriate amount on to Washington.

[Frantzie]

Didn’t John McCain call the Minuteman group a bunch of “racists” because they were tired of illegals bankrupting America - ESPECIALLY Medicaid?

The citizens of AZ can thank McCain-Feingold for the Dem 2006/2008 Congress and Obama 2008.

[Frantzie]

More like Arizona - home of the man who respects Obama - John McCain.

McCain knows Obama loves The Constitution.

[FlingWingFlyer]

I think an “unintended” consequence of the screwed up ‘RAT policies is going to become more and more apparent this year. Arizona has always had a huge population of “snowbirds” who own homes here to reside in during the winter. I think we’re going to see them start dumping those homes and remaining at their primary homes up in the midwest and back east for the entire year. Just another nail in Arizona’s coffin. I think it will, however, take a lot of the “blue” out of Arizona’s voting population.