Phoenix, AZ – Today Governor Katie Hobbs and health care providers from across Arizona joined together to condemn the proposed federal Medicaid cuts and their devastating consequences. The statements come after Governor Hobbs hosted a roundtable with health care providers to discuss the harmful impact potential Medicaid cuts will have on everyday Arizonans, hospitals and health clinics.

“These proposed federal Medicaid cuts threaten to kick hundreds of thousands of Arizonans off their health insurance and could devastate clinics and hospitals throughout Arizona, especially in rural areas,” said Governor Katie Hobbs. “Cuts will make it harder for Arizonans to access the healthcare that they need, and will decimate local economies across our state. Politicians in Washington are endangering the health of Arizonans, and Arizona taxpayers cannot afford to pay the price for these politicians’ bad decisions. Congress must change course, or Arizona will suffer the consequences.”

Dr. Brianna Hillier, DMD, Director of Dental Services, Chiricahua Community Health Centers (serving Cochise County): “In rural Arizona, Medicaid is more than just health insurance - it means a child doesn’t have to wait in pain for a dental abscess to turn dangerous. Without Medicaid many oral health preventive visits disappear - and with them, the chance to grow up healthy.”

Christopher Hansen, CEO, Canyonlands Healthcare (serving Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Mohave, and Navajo Counties): “Out here, we’re used to doing more with less. But cuts to Medicaid mean doing less with nothing—and that’s not something our communities can afford. Medicaid is the backbone of rural health in Arizona.”

Amy Taylor, CEO, Mariposa Community Health Center (serving Santa Cruz County): “In border and rural communities like ours, Medicaid is often the only path to care. It supports prenatal visits, behavioral health, cancer screenings—basic care that keeps families together and whole. This plan puts that lifeline at risk.”

Jonathan Leonard, CEO, Sunset Community Health Center (serving Yuma County): “We serve people who drive hours for a check-up. Medicaid ensures those trips end with treatment, not a closed door. This federal plan threatens access in places already hanging by a thread.”

Jessica Yanow, CEO, Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers (representing clinics serving all 15 Arizona Counties): “Arizona’s Community Health Centers have worked hand-in-hand with state and federal partners to make Medicaid work for our most underserved. This proposal would reverse that progress, hitting rural and frontier communities the hardest.”

Dave Cheney, President & CEO, Northern Arizona Healthcare (serving Coconino and Yavapai Counties): “Residents of Arizona’s rural communities rely on Medicaid to a greater extent compared to people living in urban areas.  Cuts to the Medicaid program could have a damaging effect on the availability of essential health care services for all people who live in our rural communities, whether or not they are covered by Medicaid. Northern Arizona Healthcare serves as the primary healthcare provider for the region spanning from the Verde Valley to the Four Corners, covering many rural and tribal communities. Because tribal communities rely on Medicaid coverage and the special provisions carved out as part of Indian Health Services, cuts will have an outsized impact on the tribal members we serve daily, including members of the Navajo Nation. Continued cuts to Medicaid could make it more difficult for rural non-profit systems like Northern Arizona Healthcare to provide a full range of services and maintain their positions as cornerstone employers in the communities in which they operate, and further shift costs to Arizona’s businesses and privately insured individuals.”

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