The Arizona Senate voted 18-11 Thursday afternoon to use enhanced federal Medicaid financing provided by the Affordable Care Act to substantially improve access to Medicaid. The vote was closer in the Arizona House, which approved the special session bill earlier in the day by a vote of 33-27.
Governor Jan Brewer, a conservative Republican, decided several months ago that taking the federal money to improve access to insurance coverage and reduce uncompensated care was simply too good a deal to pass up. Despite strong opposition from Tea Party Republicans in the House, Brewer was able to convince moderate Republicans to vote for the bill.The bill raises the income ceiling for Medicaid eligibility to 133% of the federal poverty level for parents and childless adults. Brewer noted that the legislation includes a “circuit breaker,” that would automatically repeal the expansion if the federal reimbursements decrease. In Wisconsin, Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee offered a similar safeguard as part of the compromise they proposed, but their plan was rejected on a straight party-line vote.
Governor Brewer thanked the Republican legislators who risked the wrath of their more conservative colleagues by supporting the Medicaid expansion:
“By joining me in extending health coverage to hundreds of thousands of Arizonans, legislators of my own party have come under sharp criticism in some quarters. But I also know this in my heart: The great majority of Arizonans stand with us.”
WCCF has prepared an updated version of our top 10 reasons why Wisconsin lawmakers should follow the lead of pragmatic Republicans in Arizona by accepting the federal funding to close a large gap in BadgerCare coverage, while saving money for state taxpayers.
Read more in this Reuters article.
Jon Peacock
