Phoenix Children’s has added two senior executives to lead its nursing workforce and its foundation's operations.
Tarra Kerr has been appointed senior vice president and chief nursing officer, overseeing strategy and operations for more than...
The American Medical Association released its 2027 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set, with 453 editorial changes designed to reflect new medical technologies and evolving clinical practices. The update includes 299 new codes, 74 revisions and 80 deletions and takes effect Jan. 1.
One of the most significant changes...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is considering whether the three types of Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans (SNPs) should remain separate or be streamlined, a move that could reshape how specialized coverage is offered to some of Medicare’s most vulnerable beneficiaries. Arizona MA SNP plans serve about...
A new study of Massachusetts' Medicaid ACOs offers a potential roadmap for improving maternal health. Set clear expectations, give healthcare organizations the resources to meet them and track patients beyond the traditional boundaries of pregnancy care.
The study, published in The Milbank Quarterly, examined how Massachusetts...Arizona News
Arizona is preparing for major changes to its Medicaid program that could affect more than 400,000 adults enrolled through the state's Medicaid expansion. The new rules go beyond work requirements. Beginning in 2027, affected Medicaid recipients will have to renew their eligibility every six months versus annually, creating additional...Government
CMS renamed ICHRA as CHOICE arrangements last week at an event in Indiana, claiming the model is an alternative to traditional employer-sponsored health insurance.
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz pointed to Oscar Health as an example of a company supporting the emerging CHOICE framework, as reported by BenefitsPro.com. He...Arizona News
HHS awarded $383.4 million through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to strengthen behavioral health treatment, prevention and crisis response nationwide. Nearly two-thirds of the funding, $252 million, is directed toward the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, suicide prevention and mobile crisis...News
Work requirements could affect nearly 417,000 AHCCCS members statewide, and the new website will serve as the agency's primary public resource for explaining who may be subject to the requirements, who may qualify for an exemption and what members may need to do to maintain coverage.
The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System...Arizona News
Navajo County Public Health will receive $549,905 annually under a five-year Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) grant designed to strengthen healthcare access, prevent chronic disease and build a more sustainable public health system in the county.
On Tuesday, the Navajo County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a...National News
UnitedHealthcare (UHC) announced Tuesday that it will eliminate prior authorization requirements for approximately 1,700 medical procedure codes beginning Oct. 1, advancing its pledge to reduce the amount of care requiring approval by 30% by the end of 2026.
The changes apply to the insurer’s commercial, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid...
Arizona has become a national hot spot for disputes over out-of-network medical payments, raising questions about whether the federal system designed to resolve surprise billing disputes is adding to healthcare costs.
The federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) system was created under the No Surprises Act of 2022 to...
Arizona is preparing to impose new Medicaid work requirements on some adults, raising concerns that the state could face another difficult rollout of public-benefit reporting rules after recent changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (OBBBA) beginning Jan. 1, 2027,...Arizona News
As physicians and lawmakers weigh whether private equity’s capital and promised efficiencies outweigh risks to cost, access and clinical autonomy, the closure of two investor-backed urology practices in Tucson provides a cautionary Arizona example.
The practices joined United Urology Group in 2021 as part of Arizona Urology...Arizona News
As Medicaid costs for autism therapy continue to increase, the Trump administration is attempting to address concerns about rising treatment costs. The feds are urging states to tighten their oversight of autism therapy providers to ensure therapies are based on medical need, not financial incentives.
In Washington, a...Arizona News
According to a new Issue Brief from Georgetown University, new Medicaid work-reporting requirements are likely to confuse low-income parents. Parents who qualify for AHCCCS under Arizona's caretaker relative category are not subject to impending 2027 Medicaid work-reporting requirements.
According to research from ...National News
New CMS guidance puts America’s Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) on notice: Starting Sept. 20, their CAH status will automatically come under review when a newly certified acute-care hospital opens nearby—a trigger the agency calls “proximal ACH identification.” The guidance also extends routine CAH eligibility reviews from three...
Two unvaccinated residents of Pennsylvania have died following an infection with measles, marking the first deaths of the year attributable to the virus. Arizona now ranks among the lowest in the U.S. for kindergarten vaccination rates.
Only Idaho, Minnesota, Utah and Wisconsin have lower levels of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)...
On Saturday, August 29th, friends, family and colleagues will remember Joseph “Joe” Peter Anderson, an Arizona healthcare leader who helped rebuild and stabilize the state’s fledgling Medicaid program during the 1980s. Anderson died Aug. 4 at age 76.
The Arizona native was born in Prescott and died at Santa Rosa Memorial...White Papers, E books, Reports and more
A new report warns that national defenses against a biological attack are at a natural disadvantage, as the country would need to be actively prepared to confront any number of biological agents, but even then a novel pathogen could easily evade preparations. AI-enabled biotechnology could reduce some of the challenges to defending...National News
Healthcare is business, meaning that its susceptible to all the dangers of typical market activity, especially from the aggressive merger-acquisition strategy of private equity firms. But as the infrastructure of medical care delivery constricts, the market has slowed its spread through higher interest rates as utilization rates weigh on...White Papers, E books, Reports and more
In this benefits brief, Milliman recommends routine audits of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), as prescription drugs have become one of the fastest-growing, most expensive, and least transparent components of employer health plans.
The firm identifies three primary benefits. Audits help plan sponsors fulfill fiduciary and oversight...National News
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing the Department of Health and Human Services to pare down immunizations and split up the MMR vaccine in an effort that falsely tied the childhood vaccine schedule to rising levels of autism diagnoses in American children. Now, the Trump administration is...Arizona News
A much-touted venture-backed startup that promised to revolutionize the delivery of healthcare through its AI software platform is under scrutiny following an investigation into its marketing practices, which may violate federal anti-kickback laws for Medicare and Medicaid.
Commure is a company that may be familiar to those in the...Arizona News
A new federal audit found AHCCCS failed to adequately ensure three Medicaid managed care organizations were analyzing whether prior authorization requirements for mental health and substance use disorder services complied with federal parity rules.
The findings did not establish that the plans imposed more restrictive requirements on...
Employers remain committed to providing health coverage but are turning to value-based strategies and tougher vendor oversight as healthcare costs become increasingly difficult to predict, according to the most recent survey from the Business Group on Health.
Respondents to the survey project a median healthcare cost increase of 9.2%...
Available To All
