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TUCSON - 350 thousand Arizonans, including 40 thousand children could lose state funded insurance through AHCCCS and KidsCare. With no way to pay, hospitals could get stuck with more patients and you could be stuck with a longer wait.

"Really these cuts aren't a ripple in the pond, they really become a tidal wave for the state of Arizona," Stephanie Healy, President of the Hospital Council of Southern Arizona, said.

Feeling that wave, will be the state's emergency rooms. The ER cannot turn away sick patients, so when people lose insurance, it becomes the only place they can see a doctor. Hospital administrators know it is a dangerous risk.

"They can't afford to go to the doctor, so they wait until they are so sick that they can't take it anymore, and we provide them what is essentially free care," University Medical Center C.F.O. Misty Hansen said.

UMC says this time of year, their emergency room is already at capacity. Adding any more patients would mean much longer wait times.

"It's going to be very difficult," Hansen said.

As legislators battled over what to cut and what to keep, State Representative Vic Williams said he thought about ER build up. But when it comes to the budget, it is all about tough decisions.

"We only have $7.1 billion coming in to try to fund a budget that was at about $9.6 billion. Something had to give, we had to make priorities," Rep. Williams said.

Hospitals say they should have been a priority and those decisions will have a lasting impact that will not only hurt the uninsured.

"The cost of that care needs to be paid for by somebody... whether its you or me, or businesses, or the system itself so ultimately, when we're trying to save money by these cuts, we end up costing the state more," Healy said.

AHCCCS officials tell News4, if congress extends part of its stimulus funding, they may not have to cut anyone from the program. That money depends on a congressional vote.