Mary Jo Pitzl

The Republic | azcentral.com

Chastened and angry over their failure to reinstate KidsCare, Republican lawmakers in the Arizona House got Democrats to join them Thursday in a successful bid to revive the children’s health-insurance program.

But the program’s fate in the state Senate, where President Andy Biggs has been a staunch opponent, is unclear. The Senate went home for the day while the House debate continued.

Skeptics questioned whether the maneuvers were a face-saving bid by Republicans who don’t want to face constituents angry over the Legislature’s decision earlier this week to reject KidsCare, retaining Arizona’s status as the only state without such a program.

The series of procedural maneuvers and passionate debate were reminiscent of the Medicaid expansion vote of 2013, where a similar bipartisan coalition pushed through another health-related program financed by the federal government that was decried by conservatives as federal overreach.

Roberts: Senate can redeem itself on KidsCare today

'This is personal to me'

Rep. Jonathan Ackerley, R-Sahuarita, agreed with other Republicans that the federal Affordable Care Act championed by President Barack Obama is not affordable. But that's not a reason to reject the federal funding that would allow Arizona to lift the freeze on KidsCare enrollment and extend coverage to more than 30,000 kids from lower-income families, he said.

“I have to go back to school in the fall and I have to look kids in the eye and say, ‘Sorry, you can’t see a doctor in a timely manner because our state would not provide KidsCare," said Ackerley, a high-school teacher in Tucson. "This is personal to me!”

Rep. Regina Cobb, R-Kingman, brought back the amendment she was going to run with the state budget package this week. She backed down then, saying it would blow up the $9.6 billion budget deal.

But she and other Republicans found an opening with a bill awaiting House debate and successfully amended KidsCare restoration onto Senate Bill 1457. After 2½ hours of debate and procedural moves, the bill passed 38-21.

"Another child came in with a pink tongue because they have Kool-Aid for breakfast," she said. "I see the results of what happens if we do not insure these kids.”Cobb, a dentist, described the children she has seen through her practice and said they make the case for providing health insurance. She's seen kids who have slept in the cold, who have smelled like smoke from sleeping outside near campfires.

Concerns state will be left holding the bag

KidsCare is designed to serve children in families whose incomes are above 138 percent of the poverty level but below 200 percent. Congress has approved funding to cover families that fall into this gap -- widely described as people whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford the premiums required under the Affordable Care Act.

In Thursday's debate, conservatives questioned those guidelines, taking issue with the fact that a family of eight that earns nearly $82,000 a year can obtain federal health-insurance assistance.

“What happens when the program expands beyond what we have?” asked Rep. Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert. "What about when we (state government) can’t afford to keep it going?"

He, like other conservatives, worries the state will be left with the bill when and if the federal funding ends.

Rep. Vince Leach, R-Tucson, said lawmakers shouldn't be lulled into believing the program won't cost the state anything because the federal government is covering the cost.

"We need to be very, very careful about expanding our programs," Leach said. He voted no, a reversal of his "yes" vote when KidsCare first came up for a vote in March. Twenty-two other Republicans joined Leach in that "yes" vote in March, including House Speaker David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista; Majority Leader Steve Montenegro, R-Litchfield Park; and Majority Whip David Livingston, R-Peoria. All three joined Leach in changing their votes.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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