A battle over how former Gov. Jan Brewer funded the expansion of the state's Medicaid program is finally going before a judge.
Lawyers will argue about the constitutionality of Arizona's hospital "bed tax" in a Phoenix courtroom Thursday. The case that could determine whether 350,000 residents remain covered under the state's Medicaid expansion.
The case hinges on whether the assessment is a tax that should have been passed by a 2/3 vote in the state Legislature or a fee that can be passed by a majority vote.
The state relies on the so-called bed tax to pay its share of Medicaid expansion costs. If a group of Arizona Republican lawmakers who oppose the Affordable Care Act prevail, the future of the expansion is in jeopardy.
