Immigrants Sue Arizona's Medicaid Program

July 28, 2016

A federal lawsuit filed in Tucson alleges that Arizona’s affordable health care program is denying full coverage to immigrants in the state. Plaintiffs say the denials could be affecting thousands of immigrants.

The director of Arizona’s Healthcare Cost Containment System or AHCCCS was sued in late July.

Lawyers for two immigrants in the suit argue AHCCCS reduced their full coverage care provided under Medicaid. Federal Medicaid rules require certain immigrants including refugees, asylum seekers and some immigrant victims, such as abuse victims, must be allowed full access to Medicaid. The plaintiffs say immigrants have been reduced to emergency-only coverage.

"Emergency-only does not provide coverage for like you know, just regular prescription medications or doctor’s visits, which is what most people need," said attorney Ellen Katz, with the William E. Morris Institute for Justice.

According to the suit, last October, AHCCCS admitted it had improperly reduced coverage for about 3,500 immigrants in Arizona.

But the healthcare reductions continued and in one case, for example, doctor visits for diabetes suffered by a refugee from Nepal were denied.

The man, Dambar Darjee and his wife, Aita, came to the U.S. as refugees in 2011. They say they became legal permanent residents in 2012 and submitted their immigration paperwork to AHCCCS showing their immigration status.

Their AHCCCS coverage was reduced in 2015 then restored, then reduced yet again, leaving the family with only emergency benefits, they stated.

Aita suffers from stomach issues for which she needs medication. Without full AHCCCS, she said in the civil complaint, she will not be able to afford the prescription. Their son suffers from a skin condition for which the family also needs prescription medication. 

The second plaintiff, Alma Sanchez Haro said she came to the U.S. under immigration provisions of the Violence Against Women Act and became a legal permanent resident in 2015.

She alleges she qualified for full AHCCCS in 2015, but that it was reduced last April. Sanchez told the court she takes medications for diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, nerve pain and muscle cramps. She must take insulin four times a day and said she cannot afford to pay for the medicine on her own.

AHCCCS Deputy Director Beth Kohler declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ellen Katz's name was mis-spelled in an earlier version of this story.