Arizona joins rest of nation with children's insurance plan

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona has joined 49 other states that offer a federal health insurance program for low-income children after backers of the plan pushed it through the Legislature on Friday and Republican Gov. Doug Ducey almost immediately signed it into law.

Known as KidsCare in Arizona, the state's version of the federal Children's Health Insurance Program has been frozen since 2010, when lawmakers closed it because of a state budget crunch.

[...] the bill's supporters used procedural maneuvers to get the plan passed, tacking it onto a bill in the House and then circumventing Republican Senate President Andy Biggs, who has blocked the legislation since March because he opposes the federal program.

The fight was reminiscent of the 2013 effort to embrace Medicaid expansion, a major component of the Affordable Care Act, that left the Republican majority badly split and left lasting damage.