Medical Experts Criticize Andy Biggs Over Medicaid Stance
Approximately 50 doctors and medical professionals have expressed their disapproval of Republican Congressman Andy Biggs’ attempts to dismantle Arizona’s Medicaid system. This criticism comes as Biggs campaigns for the governorship against Democrat Katie Hobbs.
The effort to gather signatures for the letter denouncing Biggs was facilitated by the Copper State Victory’s “war room,” a group backing Hobbs. In 2011, while leading the Arizona Senate, Biggs introduced legislation that aimed to abolish the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s Medicaid agency. The proposed bill also sought to create a new program under the Department of Health Services for uninsured individuals who don’t qualify for Medicaid.
Biggs has a history of opposing Medicaid expansion, notably in 2014 when he served as the state senate president. Recently, in his role as a congressman, Biggs supported Medicaid cuts included in H.R. 1, commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
In a conversation with One America News last May, Biggs commented on the general budget cuts proposed in H.R.1: “You got some people that wanna get more cuts, I agree with the more cut approach. That’s the only way you’re going to turn this thing around economically, at least for the federal spending side of it, is to reduce it. We don’t have a – by the way – we don’t have a revenue problem, we bring in a lot of revenue. We have a massive spending program.” He emphasized the necessity of cuts to curb federal expenditures.
Furthermore, Biggs credited the Freedom Caucus, of which he is a member, for advocating increased cuts in H.R.1, totaling over a trillion dollars. He claims these cuts aim to address financial abuses within Medicaid and other state programs.
The group of physicians labeled Biggs’ Medicaid policy stance as “disqualifying” in their letter, warning of severe repercussions for Arizona’s healthcare infrastructure. They highlighted closures of a Tucson hospital and eight local clinics, with additional rural hospitals facing potential shutdown.
With Medicaid cuts expected to be fully implemented by year’s end, the healthcare professionals voiced their concerns about the tangible impacts seen in medical facilities statewide.
→ Read the full letter condemning Biggs’ record on healthcare [PDF]
