Ahead of expected federal cuts to the Medicaid program, the Urban Institute has published a study that demonstrates that loss of federal funding means that people will lose health coverage.
The study, "Reducing Federal Support for Medicaid...National News
Last Friday, UnitedHealth Group stock took a major hit after reports that the Department of Justice is investigating its business practices.
The company weathered a difficult year after facing a massive cyberattack a year ago at its subsidiary Change Healthcare and the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson late last...National News
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget framework Tuesday night that includes instructions to apply heavy cuts to the Medicaid program.
The budget framework instructs committees to cut certain amounts from departments they oversee. The Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees health programs, was instructed to cut $880...
Arizona lawmakers are considering bills that would affect the healthcare of nearly every Arizonan, on topics ranging from abortion, to Medicaid work requirements, to AI use in healthcare.
Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban the use of AI algorithms in the determination of medical claims by 58-0. ...
The Arizona Department of Health Services has filed notice of proposed rules to implement a law that sets standards for staff who work at memory care facilities.
The rules require specific training for memory care and requires memory care facilities to have adequate staff to meet patients needs. KJZZ reports that the rules reflect a...
The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), which covers 2 million low-income Arizonans and Arizonans with disabilities, is pitching a five-year lifetime limit on services and work requirements for certain enrollees.
As of January, adults ages 18 to 64 made up 54% of AHCCCS enrollment, totaling 1.1 million members....
The measles outbreak that began in an under-vaccinated West Texas religious community has now spread to New Mexico and one child has died.
Measles is highly contagious and has already spread to more than 124 people according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, which updates on Tuesdays and Fridays. As of Tuesday, 18 had...
Milliman analysts examine the 2026 MA advance notice, litigation updates, and the Trump administration's executive orders in this February white paper.
Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings are evolving; the average 2025 rating dropped to 3.92 from 4.07 and courts have ordered recalculations for UnitedHealthcare and Centene...
Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment in 2025 has reached 34.4 million, an increase of about 1 million from last year, or just 4%, a slow gain over previous years.
Three insurers—UnitedHealth Group’s UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and CVS Health’s Aetna—continue to dominate the MA market. UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest MA...
For more than a month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been light on information, but the agency finally released this week the January and February 2025 Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment figures and The Hertel Report pulled the data to provide members a snapshot of this important market segment in...
Last year, the Arizona Alliance of Community Health Centers, including sub-awardees, the University of Arizona Center for Rural Health and Adelante Healthcare, were among the organizations in Arizona that received $3.5 million in CMS navigator funding to educate underserved and vulnerable populations about affordable health insurance...
Last weekend, officials in the Trump administration sent severance emails to hundreds of employees within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Many of those let go were employed by HHS and its agencies under the two-year probationary period that the administration has latched onto as the signifier for expendability....
Newly sworn in Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has informed department staff that he will investigate vaccines as a potential cause of chronic disease.
Shortly after confirming Kennedy as HHS Secretary, President Donald Trump issued an executive order creating the "Make America Healthy Again"...
President Donald Trump's second administration has a very ambitious and expensive agenda that Congressional Republicans are busy balancing. The party's main target for government savings is Medicaid, and state-level lawmakers are clearing the way for the anticipated federal changes.
Medicaid covers roughly 80 million American adults...
Robert L. Meyer, who has served as the organization’s president and CEO for 22 years, will officially retire in the summer of 2025.
According to The Arizona Republic, Phoenix Children's Hospital began in 1983 with 32 providers operating out of leased space at what was then Good Samaritan Hospital, now Banner – University Medical...
A new analysis of U.S. healthcare spending offers an unprecedented look at cost distribution across all age groups, highlighting significant spending on senior care. In 2019, healthcare expenditures totaled $3.8 trillion, with projections exceeding $7 trillion by 2031. The JAMA study examined spending across 3,110 counties, covering four...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), colloquially known as bird flu, is ravaging U.S. farms and has made the jump to farmworkers and pets. While the virus has yet to develop person-to-person transmission, the looming threat of another pandemic remains a concern.
Already this year, HPAI has disrupted the food supply chain and sent...
Healthcare services in Arizona's prisons aren't improving after years of back-and-forth between the courts and the Arizona Department of Corrections. Civil rights groups are returning to court to ask it to intervene to ensure care standards meet the order.
Over a decade ago, Arizona settled a 2012 lawsuit over the quality of medical...
Health Net Federal Services Inc. (HNFS) and its corporate parent Centene allegedly falsely certified compliance with cybersecurity requirements in a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to administer the Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) TRICARE health benefits program for service members and their families.
In 2016,...
Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Arizona largest pediatric health system, quietly discontinued part of its gender-affirming care program for patients under 19, following an executive order signed last week by President Donald Trump. Previous announcements focused on LGBTQ+ health equity and inclusion have vanished from the websites of both...
Congressional Republicans appear to be gearing up to make major cuts to Medicaid in the upcoming round of consolidated appropriations.
Republican lawmakers have made no secret of their desire to roll back the Medicaid expansion enabled by the Affordable Care Act. Critics of expansion have deemed the program a financial waste and a...
Phoenix Children's and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona have reached a new multi-year agreement, restoring in-network coverage at the pediatric health system, the organizations announced Feb. 8.
The deal follows a prolonged contract dispute that left negotiations stalled for much of 2024. Talks broke down before an Oct. 30 deadline,...
In the midst of a flurry of executive orders and funding freezes impairing the administration of healthcare across the country, the Trump administration is signaling that it intends to make major personnel cuts in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Federally funded community health centers in at least 10 states are...
Elon Musk's "government efficiency" task force has fully infiltrated the critical information systems at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The unsecured team could potentially compromise sensitive patient and payer information.
State officials and Congressional Democrats are moving to limit the legal scope of the...
The state of Arizona has filed a lawsuit against drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, accusing it of renaming an asthma drug in order to juice profits.
The drug is made with the exact same formula, albeit a generic equivalent, according to the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Kris Mayes in Maricopa County Superior Court. The suit accuses the...
CMS Rules
