Ten years ago, Arizona voters approved expanding AHCCCS to include anyone below the federal poverty level, the cost of the expansion to be supplemented by Arizona's share of the tobacco settlement fund.

Today, Republican Representative John Kavanagh and other legislative leaders are planning to deny health care to about 25 percent of the people currently enrolled in the program.  And Rep. Kavanagh would prefer to do it without any input from voters.

AHCCCS, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, provides health care services to one out of every six Arizonans, according to this story in the East Valley Tribune.  Gov. Jan Brewer says the current state budget deficit means Arizona can no longer afford to have more than 1.2 million people on the AHCCCS rolls.