Arizona Physicians and Disability Advocates Denounce Andy Biggs’ Plot To Abolish Medicaid

Today, Arizona physicians and disability advocates denounced Andy Biggs’ dangerous plot to abolish the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), which would have stripped healthcare coverage from over a million people, including 100,000 Arizonans with severe mental illness and developmental and physical disabilities.

Asked about people who relied on the program, Biggs responded: “What did they do before we built the infrastructure?” Reporting from the Arizona Mirror provides a stark answer: people who need Medicaid are more likely to die when they lose access to it.

Despite warnings from his own party, in the past year, Biggs voted for the largest healthcare cuts in modern history — legislation that cuts Medicaid, kicks hundreds of thousands of Arizonans off their healthcare, and raises healthcare costs for working families, sparking criticism from former Gov. Brewer, who said, "You can't kill people to balance your budget. You just can't do that."

Speakers today included House Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos; 17-year Arizona physician Dr. Edmond Baker; and mother and disability advocate Jenn Dunn.

House Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos, LD11:

“When Congress was debating the largest Medicaid cuts in American history, Andy Biggs didn't say they were going too far. He said he wanted the ‘more cut approach.’ Then he voted for those cuts. That's the pattern Arizonans need to understand. In the state legislature, Andy Biggs tried to abolish Medicaid. In Washington, he demanded deeper cuts. And when those cuts came up for a vote, he voted for them.”

Dr. Edmond Baker, 17-year Arizona physician:

“The governor of Arizona has enormous influence over Arizona's Medicaid program and the state budget that helps sustain our healthcare system. A governor should be able to look Arizonans in the eye and explain their plan to fully fund Medicaid. If cuts are part of the plan, then they should explain how many more hospitals and clinics Arizona can afford to lose. As a physician, I can tell you this: cutting Medicaid doesn't make people stop getting sick. It just makes access to medical care harder to achieve.”

Jenn Dunn, Mother and Disability Advocate:

“Andy Biggs already told us how he thinks about people like my children. He said, ‘You can't even cover them.’ Well, I am here today to tell him: my children are worth covering. Every child with a disability in Arizona is worth caring for. And parents like me deserve to know why Andy Biggs has spent years looking for more ways to cut the healthcare our children depend on.”

WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE HERE (GOOGLE DRIVE):

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