http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/n...,2890183.story
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer pushes through Obama's Medicaid expansion
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In this photo provided by by Arizona state Rep. Jeff Dial, Gov. Jan Brewer signs a proclamation calling the Legislature into special session Tuesday to take up a proposal to expand Medicaid. (State Rep. Jeff Dial / June 12, 2013)
By Cindy Carcamo
June 14, 2013, 6:30 a.m.
TUCSON — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer won a battle with state lawmakers this week, defying most other conservatives in her party to get a key component of President Obama’s Medicaid expansion through the Legislature.
The Arizona Senate voted Thursday to approve the measure 18 to 11. That followed approval earlier this week by the state House of Representatives.
The issue had inflamed passions and divided the Legislature for weeks. Things came to a head Tuesday when Brewer called lawmakers into the Capitol in Phoenix for a surprise special session.
Brewer — a vocal opponent of President Obama’s healthcare reform law — came out in support of Medicaid expansion for her state in January and ended up leading a contingent of moderate Democrats and Republicans who won over the objections of some conservative Republicans.
“By joining me in extending health coverage to hundreds of thousands of Arizonans, legislators of my own party have come under sharp criticism in some quarters. Some have had threats made not just against their political future, but also their personal livelihood,” Brewer said in a prepared statement.
Brewer added: “But I also know this in my heart: The great majority of Arizonans stand with us. Our citizens have — time and again — voted to extend cost-effective care to the working poor.”
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