Contraception bill defeated – but battle far from over
In a startling turn of events, state senators today rejected a proposal to allow employers with religious objections to deny contraception coverage to their workers.
The measure was defeated by a close margin – 13-17. But the battle isn’t over yet.
Democrats denounce GOP bills as war on women’s health, choices
Democratic legislators continued to denounce what they call Republican attacks on women’s rights, criticizing today three House bills that they say would reduce women’s abilities to make their own health care decisions.
Suit attacks quality of health care in AZ prisons
A lawsuit filed Tuesday alleged that Arizona prisons don't meet the basic requirements for providing adequate medical and mental health care to inmates and that prisoners face dangerous delays and outright denials in receiving treatment.
No relief for hospitals in Brewer’s budget
With an uptick in state revenues, Gov. Jan Brewer is proposing to alleviate some of the pain the state’s Medicaid providers have been experiencing.
The governor wants to give a 3 percent rate increase to state health care providers, including physicians, behavioral health professionals and nursing facilities.
But one group that is among the worst hit by years of incessant b[...]
Dems call for bipartisan cooperation, funding restoration, business tax reform
Democratic lawmakers today outlined their goals for the 2012 legislative session, stressing a need for bipartisan cooperation, while also ripping Republican-led legislation of recent years.
Broaden the health care conversation to include alternatives
One of the challenges to having good choices is how inclusive those choices are with respect to the methods of care that Arizona citizens find effective and economic. To the extent those effective methods are not part of the conversation the care offered through the exchange may be inadequate or discriminatory.
Brewer, hospitals announce plan to cover nearly 20,000 more on KidsCare
Three Arizona hospital systems are pooling their money to take advantage of a federal program that will cover nearly 20,000 more children under the KidsCare program while also providing millions of dollars to offset the cost of covering uninsured patients.
US renews scaled-back Arizona Medicaid program
The federal government is reauthorizing Arizona's newly scaled-back Medicaid program for another five years.
Heinz calls for Legislature to restore AHCCCS funding
Rep. Matt Heinz said he sees more and more patients who are unable to afford treatment for their catastrophic health conditions. He called for the Legislature to restore funding to the Medical Expense Deduction program.
State-funded health care rolls drop sharply in September
More than 14,000 low-income childless adults in Arizona lost state-provided health coverage last month, the biggest drop since the state froze enrollment in the health coverage program in July.
Fiscal Fright: Budget storm clouds could put state ‘under water’ in 2014
Arizona has weathered its share of economic storms in recent years. Stopgap measures, a temporary tax increase and incessant budget slashing allowed the state to precariously stay afloat.
But the horizon promises no relief yet. In fact, many budget decisions drawn up by state leaders have actually put Arizona on a course toward troubled waters.
Federal court reverses ruling that let state charge some Medicaid recipients for care
A federal appeals court Wednesday reversed part of a lower court’s ruling that let Arizona require that some Medicaid recipients make co-payments for their medical care.