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Our state is experiencing stronger than expected economic returns, and is poised to receive billions of additional federal relief dollars. General fund savings by AHCCCS from calendar year 2020 alone would be sufficient to fund a KidsCare income eligibility expansion for approximately a decade. Now is the time to act, to invest these savings in a healthy future for our kids. 

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Arizona legislators and Governor

Subject: Increase income eligibility threshold for KidsCare throughout the Arizona state budget negotiations

Message:

As a member of the Cover Kids Coalition, I am dedicated to improving health outcomes for Arizona’s children and families at the legislature and in my community. Our state is experiencing stronger than expected economic returns, and is poised to receive billions of additional federal relief dollars. General fund savings by AHCCCS from calendar year 2020 alone would be sufficient to fund a KidsCare income eligibility expansion for approximately a decade. Now is the time to act, to invest these savings in a healthy future for our kids.  Arizona has one of the highest rates of uninsured children in the nation, but we have one of the lowest income thresholds for our Children’s Health Insurance Program. For comparison, Alabama covers children earning up to 317% of the Federal Poverty Level through their CHIP program. Alabama’s uninsured rate for children is just 3.5%.  For comparison, to qualify for KidsCare, a family must earn less than 205% of the Federal Poverty Level. Data from the 2019 American Community Survey show that 9.2% of Arizona children are uninsured. That equates to about 161,000 uninsured kids. About 10% of those children live in households earning between 206-250% of the Federal Poverty Level – just slightly too much to qualify for KidsCare, but too little to afford coverage through other means. Importantly, this data reflects a pre-pandemic economy and reality; the true number of uninsured children is expected to have grown significantly in 2020 as a result of pandemic-related loss or reduction in household income.   Insuring children through AHCCCS and KidsCare is a low-cost intervention that yields tremendous returns. For the duration of the pandemic, each dollar invested in KidsCare by the state will bring more than five dollars in federal funding back to the state – not including the expense offset by KidsCare’s low monthly premiums.  But beyond the dollars and cents, expanding KidsCare income eligibility means more Arizona children will have access to affordable well-child visits, developmental screenings, chronic disease management, mental health resources, and oral health care. In the long term, that equates to fewer missed days of school, reduced mortality into adulthood, greater earnings in adulthood, and healthier birthweight infants into the next generation.  Arizona’s lawmakers are in a unique position to provide affordable, comprehensive health coverage at a relatively low cost to the state. We implore you to do so, for the health of our children, our economy, and our future.

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