Backers fight for children's health insurance in Arizona

PHOENIX (AP) — A fight is intensifying in the Arizona Legislature over the Senate leader's refusal to restore a program providing health insurance to poor children, a stance that would maintain the state's position as the only one in the nation that doesn't participate in the plan.

Backers note the federal government is paying for 100 percent of the plan through 2017, and the proposal allows the state to stop the program if federal funding drops.

The bill is sponsored by an Arizona House Republican who says the parents of eligible children are the working poor, people making $11 or $12 an hour who make too much to qualify for the state's Medicaid program but who do not qualify or can't afford for subsidized health insurance on the federal marketplace.

Participants at Monday's rally included parents, pediatricians, nurses, faith and women's groups and the Children's Action Alliance, a nonprofit group focused on children's health.