By Sergio Arellano-Oros
As a pro-Medicaid expansion campaign kicks off with a television ad featuring an image of Brewer flanked by five other GOP governors who are pushing for expansion in their states, sources on both sides of the aisle say the governor’s office has been unable to produce satisfactory answers on exactly how it plans to implement the plan.
According to democrats, the details don’t matter; they will support the expansion as long as it is not attached to “poison pill” legislation like tort reform.
However, Speaker of the House Andy Tobin raised questions about the “very dangerous” amount of power Brewer’s draft proposal would give to the AHCCCS director to set provider rates and reimbursement rates according to the Yellow Sheet.
Last week, Senate President Andy Biggs asked for details and what impact the governor’s plan would have on Arizona’s business climate according to the Yellow Sheet, “Texas and Utah – aren’t planning to go along with Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Utah and Texas rank 1st and 8th, respectively, in Forbes’ 2012 list of states with the best business climates. Rick Perry says, ‘We’re not going to do it because, why? We’ll go bankrupt if we have to do that.’ Utah’s not doing it. Arizona’s going to do that. Where will that put us? That’s the question I ask. When we say our competitor states are all doing this, well, what do you mean by competitor states?”
The Restoring Arizona campaign ad narrator uses Brewer’s talking points to sell expansion to Arizonans; “When folks go to the ER and can’t pay, you get stuck with the bill…. But conservative governors are protecting their taxpayers and saving hospitals. Governor Brewer’s conservative plan will keep our state budget balanced while providing quality health care to Arizona citizens so we can focus our budget on what matters most, like education, public safety and growing our economy.”
The Restoring Arizona campaign expects the coalition to raise and spend at least $500,000 on the campaign, according to the Yellow Sheet.
Last week, the Pima County GOP, which is considered a very moderate coalition, came out with a scathing indictment of the as of yet incomplete plan. The group accused the Governor of a “disingenuous attempt to skirt the requirement” of a super-majority vote to raise taxes, declaring the expansion will bankrupt the State of Arizona, the resolution ends strongly asking the Governor to “hold the line against enabling the socialist takeover of our health care system and insurance industry by supporting the medicaid expansion. Do not sell out our republican principles and our birthright of Liberty for a bowl of lentils and the promise of 3 years funding that will benefit a few special interests at the cost of our State sovereignty.”
This week, AJ La Faro, the head of the more conservative Maricopa County GOP, said that he has the votes needed to pass a resolution opposing Obamacare and the governor’s plan to expand Medicaid according to the Yellow Sheet.
LaFaro told the Yellow Sheet that said he believes there are enough votes on the party’s executive committee to approve the resolution. LaFaro said his group, “has to go public. If we don’t, we’re not doing our job,” he said. “The funds Arizona will draw down from the federal government as a result of the expansion plan aren’t free, and taxpayers, whether in this generation or the next, will suffer for it.”
