Will Humble, director of the Arizona Public Health Association provides a moving tribute to Pete Wertheim who is remembered as an exceptional man, colleague and friend to many across the Arizona public policy landscape.
Learn more about...Arizona News
Arizona is working to step up its COVID-19 testing game. But as the state makes more tests available, professionals are needed to administer them -- and pharmacists are answering the call.
Traditionally, pharmacists cannot be reimbursed by Medicare for services, but CMS relaxed those regulations in response to the pandemic. On...National News
States are beginning to receive cases of an experimental COVID-19 drug that the Food and Drug Administration authorized for emergency use on May 1, although the distribution process has confused some hospitals and states about why they've been left empty-handed.
Anthony Fauci M.D., director of the U.S. National Institute of...
The analysis found the proportion of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries enrolled in a Special Needs Plan (SNP) more than doubled from 2012 to 2015, and an increasing number of enrollees had social risk factors.
The May Commonwealth Issue Brief recommends MA plans develop targeted interventions to address beneficiaries’ social...
The survey shows the net annual inpatient and outpatient revenue generated by physicians in various specialties on behalf of their affiliated hospitals.
The seventh survey of physicians by the national physician search and consulting firm Merritt Hawkins, reported the average annual net revenue generated by 19...
Yavapai Regional Medical Center’s (YRMC) Board of Directors and Administrative Council recently made the decision to evaluate how a relationship with a larger health system could help YRMC expand healthcare in the Quad City region.
YRMC is a locally owned, locally operated, not-for-profit healthcare provider with acute care...Arizona News
C. William (Will) McConnell will lead Kingman Regional Medical Center as its president and CEO, succeeding Brian Turney, who is retiring after overseeing KRMC and its associated healthcare entities for the last 25 years.
The 235-bed Kingman Regional Medical Center is part of a multi-campus healthcare system and the largest...
Facilities that care and house large numbers of elderly folks are being ravaged by COVID-19 - an incredibly contagious virus particularly deadly for older people.
Just 6.7% of Americans are over 75-years-old, but that population accounts for nearly 60% of the country’s COVID deaths.
According to the Maricopa County...
Up to 80% of Arizona’s children are not seeing a pediatrician right now, a dangerous trend that creates health risks for families and communities.
According to findings released last week by the Arizona chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Covid-19 pandemic has derailed immunization schedules and denied children...
To help small entrepreneurs economically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) announced it will donate $5 million to Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) to provide loans through its loan division, Loans CDFI.
The $5 million allows CPLC Loans, a Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI), to...
Leavitt Partners hosted a webinar on April 7, 2020, discussing the implications of COVID-19 on the November elections and the nation's healthcare policy agenda in 2021. Governor Mike Leavitt, Vince Ventimiglia, Brett Graham, and Jen Colamonico shared their thoughts in this webinar and accompanying white paper.
According to the...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expecting to launch a nationwide study in June or July to track how coronavirus is spreading across the U.S. The initiative will test samples from blood donors for antibodies in 25 metropolitan areas.
The agency plans to test samples from 1,000 donors in each metropolitan area...
On Monday, the Navajo Nation surpassed the country's coronavirus epicenter with the highest per capita infection rate in the U.S. With more than 2,304 cases per 100,000 people, the nation surged past New York's rate of 1,806 per capita.
The Navajo Nation spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah with a population of 173,667 and...
Coronavirus cases are beginning to infiltrate Arizona prisons and the odds are stacked against the facilities where inmates live in close quarters, bathe communally and have little opportunity for isolation, all while being under the same roof as another few hundred people for 24 hours, seven days a week.
The conditions are even...
UnitedHealthcare, already a major market force in Arizona with 1.6 million members, is intending to offer exchange plans in new states. In 2017, after citing enormous losses, the insurer dropped its exchange offerings across multiple states, including Arizona, leaving consumers in 13 of the state's counties with only one choice: Blue...
Please join the AARP AZ Live event from 11:40am to 12:40pm for updates on the coronavirus pandemic and facility issues in long-term care facilities and the potential re-opening of the country - to participate dial 1-877-229-8493; ID PIN 14762#
Moderated by State Director of AARP Arizona Dana Kennedy, guest speakers joining the...
As Arizona prepares to reopen, precautions against a second surge hinge entirely upon testing and tracking the virus in order to contain its spread. In long term care facilities specifically, testing is critical to protect the elderly and vulnerable from contracting COVID-19 and spreading it within the care facility.
On Tuesday,...
On Tuesday, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced the reopening of businesses and places of worship, and also reinforced safety protocols for skilled nursing facilities. In addition to a push for testing, patient visitation is still prohibited and staff and visitors are required to be screened before all visits.
According to the...
The funding is thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which allocated $150 million for Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP)-eligible hospitals across the nation.
In Arizona, 16 rural hospitals are eligible to receive as much as $71,500 over the next 18 months to prevent, prepare for and...
As the total number of Arizona COVID-19 cases is growing exponentially, state officials will continue using a epidemic predictive modeling tool created by 23 researchers from ASU and UA and are preparing to conclude Arizona's testing "blitz" for COVID-19 on May 16.
According to one modeling source featured by the Arizona Department...
A dire jobs report last week revealed a 14.7% unemployment rate for the month of April, exacerbating the pandemics impact on the economy. Healthcare represented 7% of the country's job losses, tripling it's rate in just one month.
The healthcare industry has fluctuated since the beginning of the outbreak as optimism on vaccine...CMS Rules
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final payment notice for 2021 last week as the Trump administration finalized a string of regulatory changes to Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. The agency's rule outlines ACA plan regulations that impact qualified health plans (QHP) for the 2021 coverage...National News
The American Hospital Association with other industry groups and health systems brought the lawsuit against Health and Human Services (HHS) for its rule requiring hospitals to publicize their negotiated rates with insurers; the first round of oral arguments began May 7 in the U.S. District Court for the District of...CMS Rules
Along with an increase to Medicare inpatient payment rates, a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule released on Monday is suggesting price transparency requirements that include hospitals disclosing median payer-specific rates negotiated with Medicare Advantage organizations and third-party payers.
CMS is...Arizona News
Members with UHC commercial fully insured benefits will receive credits ranging from 5% to 20% depending upon the specific plan. Credits will be applied to premium billings received by members in June.
The nation's largest insurer is mindful of the costs of commercial coverage and that as unemployment continues to rise, the...
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