Nursing Jobs in Arizona Saved by AHCCCS Plan

A new plan to lower Medicaid costs throughout the state could end up saving nursing jobs in Arizona (Click here).

Gov. Jan Brewer recently released a plan to save the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and reduce overall Medicaid costs. More than 1.3 million Arizona residents depend on the AHCCCS for Medicaid coverage, which is currently the biggest factor in the state's budget gap.

Instead of eliminating the AHCCCS altogether - as some officials originally proposed - the new plan would downsize the agency by eliminating Medicaid coverage for adults without children. This could save numerous nursing jobs that deal with Medicaid patients.

In addition, childless adults currently on the plan would be allowed to remain there. Currently, Arizona is one of only seven states that provides Medicaid coverage to adults without children.

Eliminating this population from the state's Medicaid rolls would reduce AHCCCS enrollment by 100,000 people during the next 12 months and save about $500 million this year alone.

"State spending on Medicaid has increased 65 percent in four years," Brewer said. "We simply can't afford it. Nothing about this plan is pain-free. But it strikes a balance by creating a Medicaid program that is more fiscally responsible while keeping its core promises to the Arizonans who depend upon it."

Other aspects of the plan include:

• Reducing reimbursement rates for healthcare providers by 5 percent.
• Implementing or increasing co-payments for members.
• Instituting a fee for missed appointments.
• Eliminating free transportation to doctor's visits in urban areas of Maricopa and Pima counties.
• Eliminating state reimbursement for emergency care of non-qualified aliens.
• Pursue $40 million owed to the state by the Social Security Administration for previous eligibility errors.

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