PHOENIX (AP) - The Latest on the Arizona Supreme Court’s rejection of a challenge to Medicaid expansion law (all times local):
10:10 a.m.
The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld a hospital assessment that helps pay for Medicaid insurance for 400,000 low-income Arizonans.
The high court ruled Friday on a challenge brought by Republican lawmakers who opposed the Medicaid expansion plan championed by former Gov. Jan Brewer in 2013.
Losing the assessment could have forced major enrollment cuts.
The lawmakers’ lawyers argued that the hospital assessment is actually a tax that required a two-thirds vote under a voter-approved 1992 Constitutional amendment.
Brewer only got a majority of lawmakers to back the plan.
The state’s Medicaid agency and a group representing Medicaid recipients argued an exemption for fees set by state agencies means the hospital assessment is legal. Lower courts agreed with that argument.
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12:45 a.m.
The Arizona Supreme Court is set to release a ruling deciding the fate of a hospital assessment that helps pay for Medicaid insurance for 400,000 low-income Arizonans.
The high court on Friday plans to release its decision on a challenge to the Medicaid expansion plan brought by Republican lawmakers. The lawmakers’ lawyers argue that the hospital fee is actually a tax that required a 2/3 vote under a voter-approved 1992 Constitutional amendment.
Former Gov. Jan Brewer got only a slim majority of lawmakers to back the plan in 2013.
The state’s Medicaid agency argued an exemption for fees set by state agencies means the hospital assessment didn’t need a supermajority and is legal. Lower courts agreed with that argument.
Losing the assessment could trigger major enrollment cuts
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