Here are five things to know.
1. The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld the state’s Medicaid expansion on Thursday following a constitutional challenge by Republican lawmakers, according to the report.
2. The state funds Medicaid expansion through a hospital levy. In their challenge, Republican lawmakers argued the levy was actually a tax, which would have required a two-thirds majority in the state’s House and Senate to pass, reports Arizona Daily Star. The levy passed, but not by a super majority, according to the report.
3. Ultimately, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled the levy is not a tax and therefore does not require a two-thirds vote by the Legislature, reports Arizona Daily Star.
4. When the levy was instituted, hospitals did not object because the director of state Medicaid program, Tom Betlach, set the program up to be profitable for hospitals. The levy is currently generating approximately $265 million annually, according to the Arizona Daily Star report.
5. The state’s Medicaid program — the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System — assesses the hospital levy not the legislature. This, according to the judge’s ruling, distinguishes it from being a tax, according to the Arizona Daily Star report.
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