Today is a National Medicaid Day of Action. This means people all around the country are working to bring attention to why Medicaid is so important to people, the overall health care system, and our economy. 

Here are some fast facts about Medicaid in Arizona:

As we watch a flurry of actions emerge from our nation’s Capital, it is important that Medicaid is treated with the seriousness it deserves. We can help federal leaders understand how vital Medicaid is to people, the economy, and our overall health care system.   

What can you do?

• Help share these facts with your colleagues and community. You can download the PDF from the e-mail to share with your own community. 
• Write a social media post or a letter to your local paper to share how Medicaid matters to everyone, including you. 
• Let your elected federal representatives know that we are counting on them to protect Medicaid and not shift huge costs to families and providers who are already dealing with rising prices. You can reach your member of Arizona’s congressional delegation at 866-426-2631. 

Medicaid is important to our state and our lives. Let’s work together to ensure that policymakers know this.

A few notes on protecting federal funds that are vital to children and families in Arizona:

1. Over the last two days, the federal government, through Office of Budget Management (OMB) Memorandum M-25-13, directed state agencies to review all federal grants and to temporarily freeze disbursement of federal funds. This action created alarming questions and concern about what was to be included or not included. By the afternoon, OMB provided clarity on some key funding exceptions. Litigation quickly occurred, and a judge intervened to delay implementation of the memo through, at least, Monday, February 3, 2025. 
2. Today, OMB Memorandum M-25-13 is rescinded. In fact, those are the exact words used in a short memo from OMB dated today. 
3. While it is a positive development that the memo is rescinded, serious questions and concern remain about the risk to services critical to children and families that would disappear without federal funding. A full-scale review of federal grants and payments continues to proceed. CAA is collecting stories to shine a light on the impact in Arizona, and you can share the impact to you or your organization to help us to do this. 
4. There are threats to vital services for children and families that existed before this week’s memos and that continue to loom. Drastic cuts to Medicaid (the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System or AHCCCS) that are being discussed in Congress would take away health care from hundreds of thousands of Arizonans and destabilize our state’s health care system. Similarly, cuts to the State Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP) would increase child hunger. These are preliminary proposals for now and CAA is working every day with partners to prevent them from gaining support. 

We will continue to work to keep you informed. Our collaboration with you and all of our partners is key to policy decisions that work for children and families – not against them.

Is this pause in federal funds impacting you, your organization, or children and families in Arizona? We are collecting stories to help shine a light on the potential impacts of loss of federal funds. Please consider sharing your story with us and collaborating to protect vital services for children and families.

The federal government, through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has directed agencies to review federal grants and financial assistance and to temporarily pause federal financial assistance. This means a sudden halt to the disbursement of federal funds to states, tribes, local governments, non-profit organizations, private sector partners, and more. 

This directive, in OMB Memo 25-13, causes great concern and uncertainty. 

A Pause in Federal Funds Will Hurt Arizona

Arizona receives a significant amount of federal funds that are vital to the lives of Arizonans. In a 2024 state-by-state analysis of the percentage of state revenue from federal funds, Arizona was in the top ten states, ranked as the state with the third-highest share of federal funds. More recent recent data demonstrates that federal funds account for 45% of Arizona’s budget. This ranges from health care to highways to veteran’s care, child care, and services for seniors. Even a temporary pause in Arizona’s federal funds has the potential to cause harm.

Arizonans Rely on Lifesaving and Life-Changing Services Supported by Federal Funds

As the former Assistant Secretary of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), I know how much pain will be caused if federal investments are withheld. I know because I’ve met so many of the parents, children, and people who are impacted by what they often call “lifesaving” or “life-changing” services. At HHS, funds are disbursed for critical programming, including Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Programs, substance use treatment, suicide prevention, pandemic preparedness, and much more. At ACF alone, federal funds historically support: Children in foster care, their kinship caregivers, and foster families; Child care services in every state and Head Start programs that parents and employers rely on; Services for victims of domestic violence and human trafficking; Housing and job assistance for teenagers as they exit the foster care system and young people in the runaway and homeless youth system; Utility assistance to help people keep their heat on in the cold and air conditioner in the summer; and Temporary assistance for needy families to help Americans get through tough times. Pulling the rug out from children, families, and the American people at the toughest times of their lives, and when they are already facing rising costs, will be especially painful. 

Need for Greater Clarity
Many questions remain about the scope of the directive to halt federal funds.

What is the universe of funding at risk under the directive? This requires clarity. The answer seems likely to hinge on the interpretations of federal administrators. The memo notes that the directive does not impact Social Security or Medicare payments or assistance provided directly to individuals. In addition to the memo, OMB also issued a Q&A guidance related to the memo. This Q&A states that Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Head Start will continue without pause. These clarifying statements are important, especially as some federal funding payment systems have been inaccessible today. Furthermore, even with these clear exceptions, many consequential services and programs supported by federal funds remain at risk.

How Long Will Funds Be Paused? This is an open question. The memo directs federal agencies to report back to the White House based on their review by February 10. Courts and judicial actions will also have an impact on this as litigation proceeds. 

Is it Legal to Pause Congressionally Appropriated Funds? This question is already being litigated, and a court has quickly intervened to halt the effects of this directive until at least Monday. We often hear of Congress as having the “power of the purse” because the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to impose taxes and spend revenues. In addition, the Impoundment Control Act also created controls to prevent unilateral executive actions that delay or cancel funding passed by Congress. 

What’s Next? Children’s Action Alliance stands with our partners statewide who show up for children and families every day. We will share the potential impact of this and other federal actions with our congressional delegation and other Arizona leaders. All of us will continue to see news come out about new federal actions, litigation, and court decisions.

We will stay informed and share information so we can collectively take action to protect services for children and families. Join us in these efforts.

Is this pause in federal funds impacting you, your organization or children and families in Arizona? We are collecting stories to help shine a light on the potential impacts of loss of federal funds. Please consider sharing your story with us and collaborating to protect vital services for children and families.

School meals address child hunger in Arizona, and House Bill 2213 Appropriation, free school meals will be heard in the House Education Committee on Tuesday, January 28th at 2 PM in Room HHR1! 

This bill appropriates $3.8M  from the state general fund in fiscal year 2025-2026 to Arizona's Department of Education to provide meals to children in their own school every day and the bill explicitly states its intent that this $3.8 million allocation should be considered ongoing funding in future budget years. At a time when parents are struggling with rising costs, this investment is significant to sustaining these meal support programs beyond the initial fiscal year.   

Please show your support by:  

• Signing into Request to Speak (RTS) to indicate your support on the bill if you have an RTS account. The RTS application allows you to register your opinion and leave a comment for the committee members, which is a simple and effective way to show support.  
• Showing up at the House Education Committee hearing! Attendance and support are key, as in-person turnout demonstrates that many are enthusiastic about this investment.   
• Contacting House Education Committee members email TODAY prior to the committee meeting on Tuesday, January 28 at 2:00 PM. As advocates, the individual outreach stresses to these members that this appropriation is a top priority for our state. The House Education Committee members are (* are the bill sponsors):
  • Representative Gress, Chairman  
  • Representative Taylor, Vice-Chairman  
  • Representative Abeytia*   
  • Representative Gutierrez*   
  • Representative Peña  
  • Representative Biasiucci   
  • Representative Hernandez L*   
  • Representative Simacek*  
  • Representative Fink   
  • Representative Marshall  
  • Representative Garcia*   
  • Representative Olson  

HB2213 is a significant step to ensure that economically disadvantaged students have access to nutritious meals during the school day, which can support their health, academic performance, and overall well-being. Your support is critical!