Ducey sticks by his support of the bill
By Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services via Arizona Daily Star
Arizona stands to lose a third of its federal funds that support the expanded Medicaid program as early as 2020 if Congress adopts the Graham-Cassidy bill, according to legislative budget staffers.
The analysis released late Thursday by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee shows the state now gets about $3.8 billion in federal dollars for Medicaid expansion and the health insurance exchange. That is expected to grow to $4.9 billion by 2020.
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Under the Graham-Cassidy health-care bill, the report says, the state would get $3.2 billion in 2020.
That $1.7 billion difference — a 35 percent change compared to current law — could affect the approximately 80,000 Arizonans now getting care under a federally funded expanded Medicaid program.
And it is only part of the financial setback the state would suffer if the proposal awaiting a Senate vote is enacted.
