AZ Senate Committe Votes to Kill Medicaid

An Arizona Senate Committee has voted to eliminate the state’s Medicaid program. The bill would replace it with a much smaller system for only a fraction of low income people now served.

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 8 to 5 to drop the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. Supporters say it is financially unsustainable.

The program currently serves about 1.3 million people, or about 1 in 5 Arizonans. A proposed replacement would serve less than 10% of that.

KOLD reports that dropping Medicaid would cost the state about $7.5 billion in federal funding.

Opponants say the funding loss would devastate the health care system and close hospitals, especially in rural areas.

Group Hopes to Fund Organ Transplants

Community leaders and donor supporters met yesterday (Tuesday) morning in Phoenix to form an organization to raise the money needed to pay for the transplant operations no longer covered by state funds. KPHO reports that the Transplant Assistance Project will be soliciting private and business donations to the New Life Society. That’s a Phoenix based non profit organization that works to raise awareness of organ transplants and offer support to transplant patients.

The goal of $6.4 million represents one dollar for every Arizona resident. This should be enough to cover all transplant costs for one year. All money donated will go directly to the transplant costs.

Former Governor Rose Mofford was one of the people who attended yesterday’s event.