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...Arizona News
As the federal government clouds recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has attempted to clarify requirements at the state level, to limited success. Also, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled this week that providers were no longer protected from liability for claims made during the COVID-19...Arizona News
Arizona's Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs accepted the resignations of AHCCCS Director Carmen Heredia and ADHS Director Jennifer Cunico the day before they were set to appear before the Senate Committee on Director Nominations (DINO), led by Republican Jake Hoffman, who had foreshadowed his torpedoing of both women's...Arizona News
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has launched a new tool that will make it easier for Arizonans to search through public health data.
The Public Health Data Portal puts "all the agency's data in one place," according to an ADHS news release. The portal includes an easy-to-use interface and a number of tools that should...Arizona News
Against all odds, the Arizona State Legislature sent a budget to Governor Katie Hobbs that would reconcile a budget deficit over two years and she signed it.
The budget cut state programs and instructed most state agencies to tighten their belts, including a 3.45% "lump sum" cut to the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and...Arizona News
This week, the Arizona Legislature killed two major bills that would have introduced tighter regulations and accountability to entities that provide both medical and residential services to the state's addicts and elderly.
A bill brought by Navajo tribal member and Senator Theresa Hatathalie (D-Coal Mine Mesa) failed in the House...Arizona News
Falls cause the most injuries to Arizona children but 26 pediatric patients died from firearm injuries, or one-third of the total of 78 pediatric trauma deaths. Thirty out of 78 (38.4%) pediatric deaths were motor vehicle-related trauma incidents, and seven deaths (9.0%) were a result of child abuse.
The Arizona Department of Health...Arizona News
The Arizona Attorney General's Office is continuing its massive investigation into fraudulent substance abuse recovery homes that target Native Americans.
Last week, the AG's office announced that the Better You Wellness Center LLC's two owners and its biller were indicted on charges of fraudulently billing the Arizona Health Care...Arizona News
In an effort to protect abused, neglected, and vulnerable ALTCS members, AHCCCS and DES have published two surveys available for ALTCS members and ALTCS members' families through November 17, 2023.
The surveys and evaluations are conducted by the University of Arizona’s Sonoran Center for Excellence in Developmental Disability. All...Arizona News
On the first of the month, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) published the clinical improvement and human resource plan for the Arizona State Hospital (ASH).
The plan was required by a 2022 law that intended to curb conflicts in oversight and reporting caused by ADHS operating and regulating the same institution. In...News
Long-acting penicillin, a preferred treatment for syphilis in pregnant women and children, has been added to the list of drug shortages in the U.S. while Arizona currently faces the highest rate of syphilis in newborns. The ongoing drug shortage crisis highlights the limited powers of federal regulators.
In June, drug manufacturer...Arizona News
On Monday August 21, 2023, National Fentanyl Awareness Day, Arizona's Governor Katie Hobbs and Senator Kyrsten Sinema made statements acknowledging the national opioid crisis and highlighting state and federal initiatives to curb overdose and deaths.
As Sen. Sinema notes in her press release, in Arizona more than five people die each...
Women are facing dwindling options for maternity care across the country, especially in rural and aging areas, according to an updated report on maternity unit accessibility by the March of Dimes.
The update to the 2022 annual report by maternity care advocacy group March of Dimes found that 1,119 counties across the U.S. qualify as...
Arizona joins more than 20 other states that have implemented statutes or regulations allowing licensed and trained pharmacists to dispense United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved self-administered hormonal contraceptives to patients without a prescription.
During the 2021 Legislative Session, Senate Bill 1082 was...Arizona News
Arizona is still reeling from the conclusion of an investigation that found fraudulent rehabilitation centers were exploiting and often kidnapping Indigenous people from Southwestern tribes and billing the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) for treatment they never provided.
According to 12 News, some of the...
The Arizona Legislature passed a bill this week that would entrench the controversial Hospital Price Transparency rule into Arizona law. It was one of the few bills Governor Katie Hobbs chose to sign, as she has vetoed 37 bills, the third most in a single session by any governor in Arizona history.
One bill the governor vetoed was SB...
A crisis of mental health continues to grip the U.S. and Arizona, with a special focus on young people struggling with mental and behavioral health issues.
In Arizona, the patients with serious mental illness (SMI) at the Arizona State Hospital (ASH) may fall under the care of new management if a bill passes Arizona's legislature this...
Last Saturday marked the third anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a worldwide pandemic.
As the Arizona Republic points out in a retrospective, since that declaration, COVID-19 has killed more than 1.1 million Americans and 33,000 Arizonans.
There were 4,262 new cases of COVID-19 in Arizona this week with 56 new deaths related...
Maybe it was a lab leak after all? Or maybe not. This week the U.S. Energy Department announced that it determined that the COVID-19 pandemic most likely arise from a laboratory leak. Governor Katie Hobbs proclaims COVID-19 Memorial Day.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the announcement was made after a classified report was...
This week, the Arizona State Hospital (ASH) gets closer to being led by an independent governing board as the Arizona Senate approved SB 1710, sponsored by Senator Gowan.
As the Arizona Public Health Association (AzPHA) notes, the bill is widely supported because it resolves the current conflict of interest for the Arizona Department...
