PHOENIX (AP) - A health and advocacy groups are pushing to restore a program that provided health insurance to low-income children in Arizona before the Affordable Care Act.
The Arizona Republic reports that Arizona froze enrollment in the KidsCare health-insurance program for low-income families in 2010 and ended the program entirely in 2014, thinking the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion would adequately replace it.
Family advocates say the families of about 14,000 KidsCare children were unable to obtain insurance through Medicaid and instead were sent to the federal marketplace to buy plans they cannot afford.
Rep. Regina Cobb, R-Kingman, says she will sponsor a bill to restore the program, which is the state's version of the federal-state Children's Health Insurance Program.
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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com
