Governor Jan Brewer Commends Arizona Court of Appeals for its Ruling on Prop 204

Statement

Governor Jan Brewer today applauded the Arizona Court of Appeals for its ruling in the Proposition 204/AHCCCS case regarding the State's actions to reform Medicaid.

"I am pleased that the Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed the Superior Court's dismissal of this case and
recognized that this issue involves a political decision entrusted to the Legislative and Executive branches of
state government per the Arizona Constitution," said Governor Brewer. "I also commend the court for taking
into account that, had the freeze not been implemented, devastating cuts to other critical state services such as K-12 education and public safety would have been imminent."

Faced with a significant budget shortfall, the Governor and Arizona Legislature in 2011 enacted a Medicaid reform plan that trimmed roughly $500 million from AHCCCS spending. The reform plan, which included a freeze on future AHCCCS enrollment of adults without children, was adopted in an effort to slow runaway state Medicaid spending that had grown by 65 percent in just four years.

"Elected officials are charged with making tough choices, and our actions to reform Medicaid were exactly that. The Medicaid freeze, new co-pays and other reforms have real repercussions for real people. But I remain convinced that these and other budget decisions we've made have preserved our most critical state
services while -- for the first time in years -- putting state finances on stable ground. I commend the Court for its restraint in recognizing that not every issue is ripe for judicial intervention, especially those decisions expressly committed to the officials elected to office by Arizona voters."

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