Arizona medical professionals sign letter condemning Biggs' history of supporting Medicaid cuts

A group of about 50 physicians and other medical professionals signed onto a letter to GOP Congressman Andy Biggs on Monday, condemning his efforts to eliminate the state’s Medicaid program and his history of advocating for Medicaid cuts.

Biggs is running for governor against Democratic incumbent Katie Hobbs.

The Copper State Victory’s “war room” — a coordinated campaign supporting Hobbs — helped organize the letter signing effort.

While majority leader of the Arizona Senate in 2011, Biggs sponsored a bill which would have eliminated the state’s Medicaid agency, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.

The legislation would have also directed the state Department of Health Services to establish a program to serve people without insurance who don’t qualify for Medicaid.

Biggs opposed Medicaid expansion in 2014 when he was the president of the state senate.

Last year, as a congressman, Biggs advocated for Medicaid cuts in the H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“You got some people that wanna get more cuts, I agree with the more cut approach. That's the only way you’re going to turn this thing around economically, at least for the federal spending side of it, is to reduce it. We don’t have a - by the way - we don't have a revenue problem, we bring in a lot of revenue. We have a massive spending program,” Biggs said of general cuts in H.R.1 in an interview with One America News last May.

In a video statement, Biggs said the Freedom Caucus, which he belongs to, was responsible for increasing the amount of cuts in H.R.1.

“With the urging and the leadership of the Freedom Caucus, we ended up with over a trillion dollars worth of reductions,” he said.

He said the cuts target money laundering schemes that people use to abuse Medicaid and other state programs.

The physicians call Biggs’ record on Medicaid “disqualifying,” and wrote it would jeopardize all of Arizona’s hospitals and patients.

“For us, these are not just votes on a page. We see the consequences in our hospitals,

clinics, and exam rooms. A hospital in Tucson and eight local health clinics have closed,

while eight rural hospitals risk permanent closure,” the letter states.

Medicaid cuts are set to go into full effect at the end of this year.

→ Read the full letter condemning Biggs' record on healthcare [PDF]