Arizonans, we need to rein-in our legislature. Do you know what they’re doing up there in Phoenix? They’re going crazy!
The Arizona legislature just cut AHCCCS, saying the state can’t afford it. Lawmakers have voted to cut 310,000 adults from AHCCCS by rolling eligibility requirements back to those in place in the year 2000.
Last week state lawmakers eliminated Kids-Care, which serves nearly 39,000 children through age 18, through budget-balancing measures. The program cost the state $18 million a year, and federal funds covered $56 million. According to the article, the federal funds more than cover the cost of Kids-Care (but I think the article is incorrect; I think the federal funds only cover 75% of the program). So what is the real reason behind that program being cut? One possibility is that state Republicans have argued that “Kids-Care” is socialized medicine.
Hours after she signed the budget, Brewer appeared at a news conference to urge opposition to federal health-care reform. Asked by reporters what the hundreds of thousands of Arizonans set to lose coverage this year should do, Brewer said they should use community health clinics and emergency rooms.
But does this make sense???
An Arizona State University study estimates that cuts to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System would result in the elimination of about 42,000 jobs in 2011, cutting more than $1.7 billion in disposable income among all Arizonans. Health-care leaders warn that even those who have insurance will absorb the state cuts through higher insurance premiums for hospitals, doctors and others.
On top of that, the state legislature is renewing efforts to opt out of the federal health reform bill. That means that they will give up $770 million dollars of federal health-care funding.
Are they even using calculators up there in the Capitol building?
Instead of focusing on practical ways to enrich our state, legislators are working on fanatical bills. One is an anti-immigration bill that would require law enforcement to stop and question any person who looks like they could be an undocumented immigrant (read: Hispanic and other ethnic persons) and charge them with trespassing. Another is a bill from the “Birther” movement that would require all candidates running for president to present a valid US birth certificate to the State in order to be printed on the ballot here.
They must be drinking kool-aid made with CAP water up there in Phoenix, and adding a lot of whiskey to it too.
Jim Nintzel wrote a great article that highlights the lunacy of our state legislature’s recent actions and points out that there is still hope yet, in the hands of the voters: http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2010/03/16/farley-report-arizonas-future-is-now-at-great-risk
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