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...
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...
If the publicly traded insurer Cigna and for-profit Tenet don't reach an agreement by the end of the year, Arizona Cigna beneficiaries will be out of network when receiving healthcare services at Abrazo health facilities across the state, which includes four hospitals with the lowest quality ratings in Arizona, along with dozens of ASCs...
Beginning in March 2026, patients and visitors of Banner Health facilities in Arizona will pay without cash, using credit cards, debit cards, or digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, as the system transitions to a cashless payment model now underway.
To ensure access for individuals who primarily use cash, Banner has...
Last Friday, the members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to revoke the recommendation that all infants be vaccinated against hepatitis B within 24 hours of birth. Arizona state officials rejected the CDC's guidance, confirming the state still recommends a...
As oral and implanted GLP-1 agonists are poised to enter the American market, prescription drug spending is challenging the limits of major health insurers.
Prescription drug spending has skyrocketed over the past two years, led by highly effective GLP-1 injectable drugs prescribed for diabetes and weight loss. STAT News analyzed...
A new report by HealthEdge, a healthcare technology company, looks at the biggest challenges for health payers and the strategies that plans are using to address them.
The report, The Great Rebalancing: Inside the New Realities Shaping Health Plan Performance reviews survey responses from health insurance leaders and identifies rising...
Republicans in Congress have given themselves a formidable task: replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before the end of the year. The self-imposed challenge comes as a result of a resistance to extending the ACA's enhanced tax credit subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of 2025.
In lieu of a subsidy extension, President...
Arizona State University will accept its first class of medical students at its first-ever medical school beginning in August 2026.
The new John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering, operating in collaboration with HonorHealth, will offer a combined Doctor of Medicine and medical engineering degree. Arizona Sonoran News...
North Country HealthCare, a nonprofit operating community health clinics in Flagstaff and across northern Arizona, is facing a federal lawsuit from employees after allegedly failing to pay workers' health care premiums for at least four months.
On November 24, North Country employees received an email stating that their health...
At its December 4 meeting, the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) reviewed payment data on payment adequacy and potential payment updates and recommendations for its March 2026 report to Congress. This discussion included an update on post-acute care payments and an assessment of hospital performance.
MedPAC commissioners...
Milliman’s analysis of the 2027 Medicare Advantage Proposed Rule concludes that CMS is undertaking a structural realignment of the Star Ratings program by removing a group of topped-out or low-variation measures.
The agency's reductions will shrink the measure set and concentrate weight on areas where plans still show meaningful...
President and CEO of Banner Health Amy Perry ranks No. 55 on the publication's 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare list, which recognizes leaders shaping care delivery across the country at a time of significant operational and financial turbulence.
Perry has led Arizona’s largest employer and nonprofit health system since...
Valleywise Health President and CEO Steve Purves has scheduled his retirement for the end of his contract in October 2026, concluding a 45-year career and 12 years leading Arizona’s only public teaching hospital and safety-net system.
Purves oversaw what Valleywise calls one of the most consequential modernization periods in its...CMS Rules
On Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final rule for the 2026 Home Health Prospective Payment System.
The payment rule will decrease aggregate Medicare payments to home health agencies by 1.3% or $220 million, which is far less than it had proposed in June. According to Home Health Care News, the...National News
The Senate has not yet held negotiations or a vote on the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credit subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. Millions of Americans already face higher premiums, as insurance companies have moved forward on pricing without the expectation of an extension.
President Donald Trump told...
Last Tuesday, the Trump administration announced the prices for the second round of Medicare negotiated drug prices, including semaglutide products from Novo Nordisk.
The new drug prices will go into effect in 2027 and are projected to cut between 38% to 85% off of the list price of the drugs individually, and net a 44% reduction in...
The Food and Drug Administration says that data shows that the COVID-19 vaccines caused the deaths of 10 children and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is using this conclusion to justify further review of childhood vaccines.
Over the weekend, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary announced that data "accumulated during the...
Arizona’s child fatality rate fell in 2024, but deaths from infectious diseases, including vaccine-preventable illnesses, rose for the third consecutive year, according to the state’s annual Child Fatality Report released in November.
The Arizona Child Fatality Review Program (CFRP) report recorded 791 child deaths last year, a...
Medicaid enrollees are having an increasingly difficult time locating providers to address their medical and behavioral concerns in a timely manner, including those enrolled in the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS).
An increasing number of enrollees are coming forward with stories that they have been unable to find...
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