State officials are analyzing the potential impact of the U.S. House of Representatives-approved health care plan on Arizona’s overtaxed Medicaid system, which would expand significantly if health care reform becomes law.
Representatives of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS, the state agency in charge of administering Medicaid, said the reforms passed Friday in the House would be costly for the state, but less of a strain on the system than the plan proposed by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.
AHCCCS spokeswoman Monica Coury said the agency is still in the process of evaluating the impact of the House plan, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, which still has to pass in the Senate.
But she added the cost of the House legislation would be significantly less than the cost of the plan proposed by Baucus because the House plan provides states with more federal funding.
“The House bill has more expansive coverage but provides more funding and relief to the states,” Coury said. “Most likely overall, the House bill will cost less than the Senate version.”
Baucus’ version of the bill passed in the Senate Finance Committee last month, triggering responses from AHCCCS and Gov. Jan Brewer, both of whom said the plan would overburden the Arizona Medicaid system. The system has seen enrollment increases of 18 percent from a year ago, while facing the prospect of more than $200 million in cuts for the next fiscal year.
In October, Gov. Jan Brewer sent a letter to Baucus saying the legislation he sponsored would be too much of a strain on Arizona’s Medicaid system, which is already stretched thin because of budget cuts.
“Arizona cannot afford our current Medicaid program,” Brewer wrote. “The disconnect between policymakers in Washington and the reality of state and local governments is disheartening.”
Coury added that the agency could have a full report on the impact of the House plan as early as this week.
Representatives of the Children’s Action Alliance, a state lobbying group, have said the legislation is an important step toward preserving Kids Care, the AHCCCS program that provides about 46,000 Arizona children under 18 with low-cost health insurance.
Matt Jewett, director of health policy at the Alliance, said the bill’s maintenance-of-effort requirements would most likely force legislators and bureaucrats to keep the program in order to receive federal funding.
“If the bill becomes a law, Arizona will not be able to cut Kids Care,” Jewett said. “We feel this is an important first step toward preserving the program.”
The bill mandates that states fund health care programs at the same levels as they were funded on June 16 of this year in order to qualify for federal aid.
Among the 220 representatives who voted in favor of the bill was Rep. Harry Mitchell, whose district includes Tempe. Mitchell spokesman Adam Bozzi said the congressman is concerned about the fiscal impact of the plan on his home state, but the opportunity to reform the health care system is too important to pass up or delay.
“Congressman Mitchell has urged Senate Majority Leader [Harry] Reid to focus on the fiscal impact of the bill in order to bring down the cost [of] health reform legislation,” Bozzi said in an e-mail. “But we can only make improvements if we move the ball forward.”
