The 2026 Arizona legislative session will begin shortly, and Republican Senator Wendy Rogers has again introduced a bill that would require Arizona hospitals to ask patients about their immigration status during intake.
This is the second year...Arizona News
Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the awards for the Trump administration's Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), which is meant to bolster rural health systems in the wake of substantial cuts to the Medicaid program. Arizona is set to receive $167 million, about two-thirds of what it...
Many in Arizona and across America are seeing their insurance premiums more than double as the Affordable Care Act enhanced federal tax credits finally expire.
After the enhanced tax credits went into effect in 2022, Arizona enrollment doubled, closing in on 400,000 enrolled in 2025. Dr. Daniel Derksen, director of University of...
A federal judge has ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may share the personal data of Medicaid enrollees with deportation officials.
In an order issued on Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria said that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement,...Arizona News
The flu is accelerating in Arizona, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raising the designation of flu activity from "moderate" to "high."
The designation levels are based on outpatient visits to health providers for influenza-like illnesses for the week ending on December 27. The Arizona Republic explains that most...
The issue brief from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) argues that technology-enabled care, including AI, telehealth, and remote patient monitoring, will only deliver value if payment models shift away from FFS and toward outcomes-aligned, value-based care.
ASPE warns that under fee-for-service...
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030, describing the update as a major reset of federal nutrition policy and a return to “real food” as the foundation of health.
The new dietary guidelines will shape billions of dollars in federal food...
As rural and community hospitals contend with margin pressure, workforce instability, and shifting Medicaid and managed-care dynamics, the white paper from Community Hospital Corporation (CHC) underscores that waiting for “external relief” is risky.
Community Hospital Corporation's (CHC) playbook outlines a pragmatic turnaround...National News
The Food and Drug Administration's guidance eases oversight for digital health tools while raising concerns about how fewer regulatory guardrails could affect consumer decision-making.
As first reported by STAT News, the guidance aligns with the Trump administration’s broader push to deregulate artificial intelligence and accelerate...White Papers, E books, Reports and more
Milliman’s outlook for 2026 follows a year of sustained strain for health systems and provider organizations. Looking ahead, the firm’s actuaries flag six critical issues for 2026 that could reshape how provider organizations define success, resilience, and strategic agility in an increasingly constrained operating environment.
In...
In this year-end data edition, The Hertel Report provides an overview of Arizona's Medicaid agency, the Arizona Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). The edition examines where plan quality performance has stalled and excelled, where oversight is tightening, and how federal policy changes are reshaping the financial and administrative...
Just ahead of the scheduled expiration of telemedicine prescribing flexibilities, Federal regulators announced a renewal of the pandemic-era telemedicine flexibilities for prescribing controlled substances in place through Dec. 31, 2026, giving providers and patients another two years of regulatory certainty as permanent rules are...CMS Rules
Last Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a new proposed rule that would overhaul disclosure rules for health payers' pricing and cost-sharing determinations.
The 2020 Transparency in Coverage (TiC) rule required payers to disclose cost-sharing information in a machine-readable format and create...National News
The Trump administration took office with a pledge to "Make America Healthy Again" and to repair the public perception of the nation's healthcare regulatory system. Helmed by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. the Department of Health and Human Services spent 2025 overhauling the nation's public health infrastructure, with a focus on...
On Monday, the Trump administration announced the first dispersement of funding from the new $50 billion rural healthcare fund, which is designed to support rural healthcare following major cuts to federal funding enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year.
The first-year awards will...
Last week, the Trump administration proposed two rules that would withdraw federal funds from facilities that offer gender affirming care for transgender minors, which would force most medical centers to cease providing those services.
The rules, proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, directly target certified...Arizona News
Arizona now allows eligible justice-involved youth to access certain Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program services up to 30 days before release from incarceration, marking a shift toward limited prerelease coverage aimed at improving reentry transitions.
The change, implemented Oct. 1 by the Arizona Health Care Cost...CMS Rules
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services established a new Office of Rural Health Transformation on December 22, consolidating responsibility for the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program within the agency, according to a notice published in the Federal Register. The office will serve as CMS’s central point of control...
Congress remains at an impasse on either extending ACA enhanced premium subsidies or introducing a new healthcare plan that would reform the ACA into something that the Trump administration prefers.
Last week, the Senate failed to pass either a clean extension of the ACA enhanced premium subsidies as proposed by Democrats or a new...
Late last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that is intended to intervene against state-level regulations of artificial intelligence.
The executive order directs U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to establish an "AI Litigation Task Force," which would challenge state AI laws that are "inconsistent" with the...
Thin Blue Line provided gap coverage to retired police officers and firefighters, but failed to pay claims earlier this year after Arizona beneficiaries paid millions in premiums.
AG Mayes announced Thin Blue Line agreed to pay hundreds of unpaid claims. According to AZFamily, Thin Blue Line is under federal investigation, leaving...
Following the conclusion of the long fight against minimum staffing rules for nursing homes, long-term care facilities are facing calls for electronic monitoring reform. The Arizona Vulnerable Adult System Study Committee issued a unanimous supplemental recommendation requesting that Arizona lawmakers consider granting residents of...CMS Rules
On December 8, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted preliminary guidance for the Medicaid work requirements mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which passed into law on July 4 this year.
The law requires the creation of new rules by June 2026 and CMS notes in the guidance overview that further...
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center posted a Model Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a new model focused on lifestyle approaches to reducing chronic disease for Medicare enrollees.
The new model is called Make America Healthy Again: Enhancing Lifestyle and Evaluating Value-based...
The Wakely Consulting Group analysis found physician-led and lower-revenue ACOs were especially effective at generating savings as patient risk increased, outperforming larger, hospital-based ACOs managing higher risk populations.
The paper's authors also found that higher quality scores consistently correlated with stronger financial...
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