Time is of the essence if we do not want to harm families.
The Star’s editorial on Sept. 17 in opposition to the current proposal requiring the poor to work in order to receive Medicaid benefits through our state Arizona Health Care Containment System or AHCCCS is sound and good policy for the state.
The draft proposal, which is being finalized by the state before being sent to the federal government for consideration, would allow Arizona to require “able-bodied” low-income residents who receive medical care through AHCCCS to work or be in a job training program.
The majority of the poor are not in the labor force because they are: children (35 percent), senior citizens (10 percent), people with disabilities (10 percent) or students (7 percent). The vast majority of the working-age poor are in the labor force.
This proposed legislation affects the 8 percent of the poor who have the most important job any of us will have, being a caregiver to a loved one. The proposal is asking caregivers to make a choice: Get a job, or leave your loved one alone.
Without access to health care, these individuals will use hospital emergency rooms as their primary health-care provider driving up the cost for all of us. More importantly, the proposal is anti-family and will negatively impact countless caregivers throughout our state.
Nobody chooses their birth family and nobody chooses to be poor. We live in one of the poorest regions of the Unites States. Each day these families face difficult choices. Should I get medical or dental care for my child, or purchase the educational materials they need for school? Can I afford to lease a car to get to work, or pay for the diapers and child care?
Take a moment to think of facing this trade-off every day. The Medicaid proposal does not need to add another no-win daily decision that will pull families apart.
As the Family Caregiving Alliance explains, caregiving often creeps up on you. You start by dropping by your mom’s house and doing her laundry, or taking your dad to a doctor’s appointment. You find yourself doing the grocery shopping and refilling prescriptions.
Gradually, you are doing more and more. At some point, you realize you have made a commitment to take care of someone else.
Sometimes, caregiving is triggered by a major health event, such as a stroke, heart attack or accident. Maybe you suddenly realize that dad’s memory lapses have become dangerous. Life as you know it stops, and all your energy goes to caring for your loved one. Caregiving has become your new career.
Gov. Doug Ducey needs to hear from you about this proposal to require employment in order to receive AHCCCS benefits. We urge you to contact him today and ensure that we make the right decision for our families and our community.
The proposal will impact thousands of Arizona families by potentially moving them off health care and branding us as an anti-family state.
Arizona’s proposal wants people to make a choice between health care and caring for a loved one who depends on you. Ask yourself: Could you?
