Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Track to Arizona Politics

The only reason I am able to have such a full life is Medicaid. Medicaid provides vital services to people with disabilities through a state-federal partnership that finances coverage for those who qualify. The program has successfully provided care to the most vulnerable Americans for the past 50 years.

Though it is too often ignored in the criminal justice reform dialogue, treating the mentally ill and drug addicted as patients instead of criminals should be a focal point for reform.

As author of a book documenting the shooting of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and a frequent socio-political commentator on issues of local and national importance, I am appalled by the epidemic of violence in political protest sweeping our nation.

Responsible improvements should recognize public safety as the primary purpose of the system, while offering a real opportunity for a second chance through investing and supporting a strategic approach in reducing crime and saving tax payer money, and it should start from the beginning of an inmate’s sentence until they re-enter society.

We’ve heard several elected officials declare a desire for their state or town to be the “Kitty Hawk of self-driving vehicles.” As an automaker committed to a new, transformative vision for mobility, GM likes the sound of that.

Rationalizing spending more money on a sunk system because we have already spent so much, is throwing good money after bad. It’s past time the outdated New Starts program as well as the old transit line technology be ushered out to make room for the possibilities of the future.

Phoenix Children’s believes every child in Arizona should have access to high-quality health care. Medicaid is critical to this aim. We urge our state’s representatives – especially Senators McCain and Flake – to stand up for Arizona and its children, and ensure that we do not end up on the losing side of this battle.

The ERA is the only method left to ensure women’s constitutional equality. The ERA has enjoyed massive public support for decades. Yet in Arizona, a state with historic high levels of women in the state Legislature, several women governors and at one time, five top state offices held by women, it can’t even get a hearing. What are they afraid of?

No government program is perfect, but Arizona’s Medicaid program – known as AHCCCS – is the gold standard when it comes to delivering quality, affordable health care. Our state’s Medicaid program uses an integrated, managed-care model that promotes competition and patient choice, controls costs and incentivizes preventative care.

Those of us who have been in the policy mix a long time noticed something different this year. For the first time since I can remember, advocates for public K-12 education openly opposed higher education funding.