Medicaid Comes to Arizona: A First-Year Report on AHCCCS

In October of 1982 the State of Arizona, which had no Medicaid program, initiated an experimental program of care to the indigent that combines elements of capitation and competition. This article describes the new program, explains why key political actors in Arizona reversed their earlier stand and enacted the program, and assesses the extent to which the expectations of various groups have been met during the program's first year of operation.