Arizona Reinstates CHIP Coverage - June 2, 2010

On May 6, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) signed a bill that reverses a previous budget measure that would have ended the state's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The budget measure, signed March 18, faced opposition because it likely would have violated maintenance of effort (MOE) rules under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), jeopardizing the state's federal Medicaid funding. MOE rules require that in order for states to receive federal Medicaid matching funds, including enhanced funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, states must maintain eligibility levels for CHIP in effect as of March 23, 2010, the date of PPACA's enactment, through 2019. Under the reversal, 34,000 children enrolled in Arizona's CHIP will keep their coverage, but enrollment will be frozen. Reinstating the program will cost the state $9 million this year, and leaves the state eligible to receive federal Medicaid funding.