Federal dollars for children's health care won't help Arizona

A federal bill to provide a $32 billion expansion of children's health care won't have an impact on Arizona, said an official with the state's program.
 
Monica Coury, assistant director of intergovernmental relations with the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), said in order to expand coverage to more children, the state would have to put up the money first - something Coury said didn't happen with the newly passed 2009 state budget.
 
AHCCCS runs both the state Medicaid program and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), or Kids Care. There were 2,531 children enrolled in Kids Care in Yuma County as of Jan. 1, Coury said, and now, as of Feb. 1, there are a total of 59,577 children enrolled in the state.
 
SCHIP was created in 1997 to provide health care coverage for children in families that earn too little to afford health insurance for their children but too much to qualify for Medicaid, according to a release about the increased federal funding from U.S. Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz.
 
Coury said while the Kids Care program did not get cut from the budget, the state did not increase funding either. She said they're not going to turn children away from Kids Care, but the federal funding will continue to be matched at the state's current enrollment.
 
Dr. Robert Cannell, former Yuma lawmaker, said because of the federal contribution, the state should increase funding.
 
"I understand it's tough now, and we need to tighten our belts, but this is the kind of money we should spend," Cannell said.
 
State Sen. Amanda Aguirre said she's disappointed the state won't receive additional funds from the $32 billion SCHIP Act passed Wednesday.
 
She said the children are the ones who suffer because uninsured children lack immunizations and access to health care to treat preventable diseases.
 
Coury said it's too soon to say what might happen down the road, but for now, increased federal funding is "highly unlikely."
 
The state could receive part of the $32 billion for increased enrollment or for outreach programs, but she said the state Legislature would have to approve those programs.
 
Coury said the current trend is Medicaid enrollment increasing and Kids Care enrollment decreasing. Because of the economy, she said, fewer people are able to pay the premiums associated with Kids Care, as opposed to Medicaid.
 
The state would have to allocate more money in the 2010 budget for Kids Care in order to receive more federal funding, Coury said.
 
Now lawmakers are working on the 2010 budget, estimated to have a $3 billion deficit.
 
Aguirre said the Legislature will fight hard to help more kids in Arizona become insured, and that she hopes money from a federal stimulus bill will help the state deficit and go toward programs such as education and health care.
 
Coury said AHCCCS is still committed to providing quality health care for children in Arizona, but the state Legislature has a tough job deciding what to cut.
 
"I don't envy their position, they have a difficult job right now balancing the budget," Coury said.


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Stephanie A. Wilken can be reached at swilken@yumasun.com or 539-6857.