Overview
- Gov. Katie Hobbs directed AHCCCS to halt implementation of the Oct. 1 assessment after parent outcry over steep reductions to children’s disability services.
- The agency will delay any reductions in care hours, prioritize reassessments for families already cut, and hold new assessments until the tool is updated and an Extraordinary Care Review is in place.
- Emergency rulemaking approved by Attorney General Kris Mayes will amend the assessment, with AHCCCS planning an expedited public comment period before subsequent regular rulemaking.
- The halted changes targeted attendant care and added age-based limits on habilitation, measures that advocates said were harmful and that DDD projected would save $133.2 million, including $47.4 million from the state general fund.
- Officials cite surging costs—attendant care and habilitation for minors rose from $77 million in 2019 to $614 million in 2025—while advocates caution the pause is temporary and more legislative funding decisions are likely next session.