As Americans process the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, one thing is clear: he has the potential to drastically alter American health care for decades to come. Such a drastic change will certainly be destabilizing on two key issues that have been largely unchanged for four decades.

On Friday, the day of his retirement, U.S. Magistrate Judge David Duncan ordered the Arizona Department of Corrections to pay $1.4 million for continued noncompliance with court-ordered prison health care standards.

If you have ever faced a serious health threat or have a chronic condition, you know that treatment and the road to recovery can be complicated.

While public education is expected to be the top issue when lawmakers return on Monday, a few other subjects are likely to command some attention.

A federal judge believes the system of monitoring Arizona’s prison health care may be so “corrupt” that it can no longer be trusted.

After passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and after a hard-won fight to expand health insurance in Arizona in 2013, advocates quickly hunkered down to ensure Arizonans know their options, and they actually have access to them. Out ...

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.

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 see their first patient.

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 health care policy in Arizona and nationally.

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.