Loop 303 opens a new gateway to the West Valley
The days of driving through the congested freeways and streets of Phoenix are finally over for the people of Goodyear.
Car registration fee boost proposed to end raid on road cash
Republican lawmakers are proposing an increase in vehicle license fees to end years of raids on dedicated local highway funding that paid for highway patrol operations.
Let’s use road funds on roads
The ink is barely dry on the budget when residents of our 91 cities and towns and 15 counties register their complaints with local officials about streets and roads showing signs of age, inadequate maintenance and disrepair.
Transportation is the foundation of a strong economy
For decades, Arizona was blessed with high quality, high capacity highways stretching from border to border. But growth and economic prosperity have filled the state’s key commercial corridors, and little capacity has been added.
Investing in preventative health care would pay huge dividends
If I had one wish for the future of health and health care, it would be a simple one. Lawmakers and agency policymakers would use evidence to develop public policy. Policy decisions and resource allocation would be driven by data and prioritized by long-term return on investment.
Lawmakers should reject Pew proposal for ‘dental therapists’
The Pew Foundation and its allies of convenience want the Legislature to green light “dental therapists.” They say this will improve dental health care for poor and rural Arizonans. Yet these dental therapists, empowered to do irreversible surgeries such as pulling teeth, will have minimal training – nothing at all like what dentists, pediatric dentists and oral surgeons receive before they [...]
Nurses are playing a more prominent role in providing safe, quality care
Nurses exist to help patients – that’s our top priority. So, when we look at the state of health care in 2017, it’s through the lens of whether it is getting easier or harder for patients to access the care they need. The answer is, it’s a mixed bag. Arizona nurses are playing a more prominent role in providing safe, quality care. But not all of the news is good; uncertainty swirls around [...]
Beyond the noise: health care’s journey to clarity
It may sound ridiculous to remind everyone that we only have one body, with many parts. Yet we’ve created a system of health care that serves distinct parts carved out from each other – mind, body, teeth. This fragmentation has created a maze of confusion.
Art therapy requirements put in place, still largely unregulated
A search of the popular magazine “Psychology Today” revealed that many professionals in Arizona who are not certified continue to advertise art therapy services. Of 16 therapists that listed an art therapy specialty or claimed to be trained in art therapy, only five had the required board certification.
Congress needs to do its job – renew funding for children’s health insurance
Called KidsCare in Arizona, CHIP now covers more than 23,000 children across our state. It has helped bring the rate of Arizona children with health insurance to a historic high at 92.7 percent. Instead of celebrating, families have been thrown into uncertainty as the fate of their children’s health care hangs in the balance.
Repeal and replace offers way out of ACA’s limited choices
Our state has already enabled innovative care models, such as Direct Primary Care practices and Health Care Sharing Ministries. By lifting the regulatory burdens that create barriers to health care choice, these models have met the needs of thousands in Arizona, and the number of participants is growing annually.
Turf wars plentiful in health care practice expansion process
The sunrise review process is one of the more obscure proceedings at the Arizona Legislature, but it’s also the battleground for recurring turf wars.