Arizona House Republicans are set to advance a legislative package aimed at integrating key elements of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, into state law. The Arizona House Health and Human Services Committee will meet on Monday to discuss six bills that align with federal reforms, focusing on Medicaid accountability, rural health care enhancement, and taxpayer protection. The meeting will be chaired by State Representative Selina Bliss.
House Majority Leader Michael Carbone emphasized the need for these reforms, citing a significant increase in Medicaid spending in Arizona from $13 billion to $23 billion over four years. “Medicaid was created to protect the vulnerable, not to bankroll waste, fraud, and unchecked growth,” Carbone said. He believes H.R. 1 is essential for restoring accountability and sustainability.
The primary bill under consideration is HB 2796, which aims to enhance eligibility enforcement at AHCCCS through cross-agency data matching. This measure seeks to verify income, residency, deaths, and out-of-state activity while limiting presumptive eligibility to children and pregnant women. Public support for these reforms is high, with polling indicating strong backing for verifying eligibility through state and federal data sources.
Chairman Bliss highlighted the importance of addressing rural health care funding disparities: “Rural Arizona is being shortchanged.” She noted that Congress allocated $50 billion for rural health stabilization but that Arizona ranked low in funding received. The proposed Rural Health Transformation Fund bills aim to improve workforce compacts and SNAP policy options while ensuring proper tracking of rural health dollars.
The committee meeting will be accessible online for public viewing here.
