Medicaid funding at risk: How will Arizonans be affected?

April 21, 2025

Upwards of 500,000 people can lose health insurance if the proposed budget were to pass.

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doctor listens to patients heart

Experts say millions of low-income people in the U.S. stand to lose their health insurance under Congressional Republicans' proposed budget for next year, which would end most federal support for Medicaid and shift costs to the states, who simply can not absorb the shortfall. "I estimate that probably 520,000 Arizonans that are currently covered by Medicaid will lose coverage," said University of Arizona associate vice president Dr. Daniel Derksen, director of the Arizona Center for Rural Health. "That's substantial. You're not saving money when you throw people off of coverage. You're just shifting the cost."