The insurance for the poor Arizona Medicaid spends about a shortage of money and this has led to consider the possible $ 50 annual fee to patients who smoke, have diabetes or are overweight or obese.

A spokeswoman for the Cost Control System of the Arizona Health Care System (AHCCCS) said on Friday that seeks to control the share price of health care by encouraging patients to stay healthy.

“This means that consumers begin to have greater awareness of its place in the enormous puzzle of the health system,” said spokeswoman Monica Coury AHCCCS. “We want to be able to care for the health of people and we take our dollars as much as we can. Part of this is to make people take better care.”

Some private employers and state governments have instituted more in insurance premiums for workers who are overweight or smoke, but the Arizona plan would be the first official health program for low-income residents. The fee would apply only to certain adults without children.
Part of the proposal would affect people with diabetes. Coury said that diabetics who do not comply with the instructions of their doctors to lose weight may have to pay the $ 50 fee.

Kyrsten Sinema Democratic Senator said this is not just for diabetics.

“It would penalize people who have a disease beyond his power and control,” Sinema said. “I do not think it is fair to denigrate someone with diabetes.”

People who are obese or have chronic diseases and those who smoke should work with a general practitioner to develop a plan to help them lose weight or improve their health. Patients who do not meet specific targets would have to pay $ 50 which includes the proposal.

The plan requires the approval of the Legislature controlled by Republicans, who have considered $ 500 million in cuts to the Medicaid program in Arizona to help eliminate the state’s budget deficit, of nearly 1,500 million dollars.

A change in fees for Medicaid patients would also require federal approval and federal laws may prevent this quota applies Arizona.

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