ACA Replacement To Shed Nearly 400,000 From AZ Medicaid Rolls
Arizona’s Medicaid program could shed nearly 400,000 people by 2023 under the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act, according to a new state analysis.
The GOP's American Health Care Act would essentially reverse much of what the ACA did for the state’s Medicaid program, known as the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.
The extra federal funding tied to former President Barack Obama’s signature health law allowed Arizona to restore coverage for single adults up to the federal poverty level. That population became eligible in 2000 when Arizona voters passed the ballot measure Proposition 204.
State lawmakers froze enrollment for that category during the recession because of the budget crisis. Not only did the ACA re-open enrollment for those adults, but it also required the state to raise eligibility up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level.
The Republican bill would not provide any new, enhanced funding for the expansion population after 2019. It would run the state nearly half a billion dollars by 2023 to keep just the Proposition 204 population insured. That scenario would result in about 108,000 people losing coverage, rather than 383,000.
The state's analysis also points to the impact on the health-care economy. If the state freezes enrollment for the entire expansion population, that would soon decrease overall AHCCCS spending by about $2.5 billion.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill on Thursday.
