Arizona

This article is part of the State Status and News series related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

On 30-Mar-2010, the Arizona legislature gave¹⁾ Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican Party member, the right to sue the federal government despite objections by Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Democratic Party Member. According to one report²⁾, the Arizona Governor intends to join “more than a dozen other states that already have challenged the right of the federal government to require individuals to obtain health insurance or face a fine” and to “attack provisions in the federal law that forbid Arizona from cutting back its own health plan if it wants to get future dollars from Washington.” The initial report was soon confirmed³⁾ with other reports⁴⁾ adding that ”[Arizona House Speaker Kirk] Adams has said Arizona could offer a unique perspective to the lawsuit because of the state's need to reverse Medicaid cuts.”