Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System 5267428 204808340 2008-04-10T23:38:33Z 208.81.184.4 link out to wiktionary which has a sound file with the pronunciation & pronunciation helps The '''Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System''' ('''AHCCCS''') is the name of the [[Medicaid]] program in the state of [[Arizona]]. As with all Medicaid programs, it is a joint program between the state and the [[Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services]] (CMS). It became the final such state Medicaid program to implemented under Title XIX (as all other states had previously created their own programs) when it began in October 1982 as a section 1115 demonstration project. The program acronym AHCCCS is frequently pronounced like the word "[[wiktionary:access|access]]." Until 1988, AHCCCS covered only [[acute care]], except for limited post-hospital [[skilled nursing facility]] coverage. The '''Arizona Long Term Care System''' (ALTCS) was created to allow Arizona to implement a [[long-term care]] (LTC) program for the elderly, physically disabled, and the developmentally disabled. It is administered as a distinct program from the acute care program. In 1990, AHCCCS began phasing in [[mental health]] services, beginning with coverage of seriously emotionally disabled children under the age of 18 who require [[residential care]]. Over the next five years, [[behavioral health]] coverage was extended to all Medicaid eligible persons. In 2001, AHCCCS received permission from CMS to expand eligibility for its Medicaid acute care program to 100 percent of the [[Poverty threshold|Federal Poverty Level]]. As 2005, almost 1,013,800 people were served in the acute care program and close to 41,655 were enrolled in the LTC program. In addition, 50,672 children were enrolled in the Arizona [[State Children's Health Insurance Program|SCHIP]] program, known as '''KidsCare'''. == References == *[http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicaidStWaivProgDemoPGI/MWDL/itemdetail.asp?filterType=data&filterValue=Arizona&filterByDID=2&sortByDID=2&sortOrder=ascending&itemID=CMS047959 Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System details at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid] *[http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicaidStWaivProgDemoPGI/downloads/Arizona%20Health%20Care%20Cost%20Containment%20System.zip Zip file from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid containing details of AHCCCS] == External links == * [http://www.ahcccs.state.az.us/site/ Official AHCCCS website] [[Category:Healthcare in the United States]] [[Category: Medicare and Medicaid (United States)]]