Arizona Legislators Pass Medicaid Expansion

Victory for Governor Jan Brewer

(Reuters) - A divided Arizona Senate passed a key piece of President Barack Obama's Medicaid expansion agenda on Thursday, handing Republican Governor Jan Brewer a policy victory over fierce opposition from conservatives in her party.

By an 18-11 vote, the Senate approved the bill with the backing of a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers that will add hundreds of thousands of the state's poorest residents to the Medicaid healthcare rolls, but was opposed by conservative Republicans.