500k Arizonans could lose health insurance with looming federal funding cuts

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — There’s growing concern for state leaders with possible federal spending cuts and the impact that could have on the future of Medicaid.

More than two million people in Arizona are enrolled in Medicaid, known as AHCCCS.

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its budget resolution which included house committees to be ordered to cut costs. The Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, is being tasked with cutting at least $880 billion over ten years.

“Medicaid is hugely problematic because it has a lot of fraud, waste and abuse. Everybody knows that. We all know it intuitively,” said Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

On Saturday, Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego held a roundtable discussion on the future of Medicaid with healthcare leaders from across Arizona.

“You will see hospitals shutting down, you will see practices moving away. You will see people using the emergency room as their primary care doctor, and you’ll see every Arizonan’s premiums probably go up,” said Gallego.

Sen. Gallego plans on holding Medicaid town halls throughout Arizona over the next few months, as lawmakers in Washington D.C. also work to finalize the federal budget.

“There is no way that you can honestly be doing your job and do these cuts to Medicaid to the poorest of Arizonans. And when I talk about the poorest these are people that are actually working Arizonans, families, children, people that are particularly acutely sick that can’t get coverage and to do it to give tax cuts to people that are doing very well right now,” said Gallego.

Arizona Public Health Association Executive Director Will Humble says people who are enrolled under Arizona’s low-income expansion could lose their coverage if federal funding falls below a certain level.

“You can’t get $800 billion in ten years without going after Medicaid,” said Humble. “We’re looking at about 550,000 people in Arizona that would lose their Medicaid insurance.”

Helena Whitney, the senior VP for the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, says that rural communities would be hardest hit by Medicaid cuts. Services for mental health, pregnancy care, and more would also be in jeopardy.

“We don’t have a bifurcated healthcare system so if you take away services for one group of people that means you’re also taking away services for you and for your family and the people that you care about,” she said.

If funding cuts do happen, it could cost Arizona taxpayers $1 billion or more a year to keep coverage for everyone. Humble says it would be possible to find money to pay for that, but Governor Hobbs has said there’s no way the state could fund that.

“These are our tax dollars that we are sending to Washington. They owe us back,” said Governor Katie Hobbs.

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