Under an Arizona Plan, Smokers and Obese Would Pay Fee for Medicaid

Arizona would get three cheers, if only the amount to be paid weren't so small.

Arizona, like many others states, says it is no longer able to adequately finance its Medicaid program. As part of a plan to cut costs, the state has proposed imposing a $50 fee on childless adults on Medicaid who are either obese or who smoke. In Arizona, almost half of all Medicaid recipients smoke; while the number of obese people is unclear, about one-in-four Arizonans is overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Step up AZ, and other states.

Charge these folks the hundreds and thousands of dollars more - per person - they actually cost the system.