With the health insurance marketplace created by the federal Affordable Care Act set to open in October, advocates are out to make sure that the message reaches Arizonans who are older or Spanish-speaking.... Read more»
Interviews with developer Richard Studwell, our City Hall commentator; Democratic state Rep. Andrea Dalessandro (LD2); Inside Tucson Business columnist and former City Councilwoman Carol West; plus Vail School Superintendent Calvin Baker and JTED Governing Board Member Bob Schlanger.... Read more»
Republican lawmakers and advocates for limited government took to the House lawn Thursday to protest Gov. Jan Brewer’s support for expanding Medicaid coverage. After opposing the Affordable Care Act and deciding against having a state-run health insurance exchange, Brewer announced earlier this year she wants Arizona to accept billions in federal funds over three years.... Read more»
Interviews with the president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Glen Hamer; plus City Hall commentator Richard Studwell, TucsonSentinel.com’s Dylan Smith, Penelope Jacks of the Children’s Action Alliance, and Tucsoncitizen.com administrator Mark B. Evans.... Read more»
We always hear about how polarized the country is, but on most of the big issues there’s a clear public mandate to go in a certain direction. Congress just needs to listen. The budget is a good example. A Jan. 30 Reason-Rupe poll asked respondents what the country spends too much money on, and the most popular response — at 21 percent, the winner by several points — was “defense/military/wars.”... Read more»1
An interview with Republican state Sen. Al Melvin of Tucson. Then, the Friday Reporters’ Roundtable with Sarah Garrecht Gassen, editorial writer with the Arizona Daily Star, and Dan Shearer, editor of the Green Valley News.... Read more»
A new analysis on the Affordable Care Act prompts Republicans and the White House to trade misleading claims about the law’s impact on insurance premiums. Predictably, one side says they’ll go up; the other says they’ll go down. But both are stretching the facts, just as they’ve been doing since 2010, before the law was even enacted.... Read more»
Those accustomed to obtaining health insurance through the workplace and choosing among different types of policies may be in for a rude surprise.... Read more»
Rep. Michele Bachmann claims that “vulnerable women, vulnerable children, vulnerable senior citizens” will all “pay more” under the federal health care law and get “less” in return.... Read more»
I know firsthand that insurers are eager to avoid the expense of providing coverage for people who, because of their age and health status, might need costly medical care. The industry is running a massive PR campaign to try to get Congress to change Obamacare so that states can decide how much insurers can charge people based on age.... Read more»
The release of the House GOP budget by Rep. Paul Ryan has sparked a resurgence of false and misleading claims about the Affordable Care Act, which the budget seeks to largely repeal.... Read more»
One of the reasons Americans are still confused about the Affordable Care Act is the ongoing misrepresentation of the law by members of Congress who voted against it. This obfuscation isn’t confined to what the law actually does or doesn’t do, but also to what impact it might have on the federal deficit in years to come, as a vocal critic of the law demonstrated last week.... Read more»
Shouldn’t the focus in health care policy be aimed at understanding why health care costs so much? Wouldn’t the answer determine the right policies to pursue? If we bring down costs, wouldn’t many of our concerns about the cost of care and access to insurance be addressed?... Read more»
Officials estimate estimates there are 141 primary care shortage areas, 94 mental health care shortage areas and 154 dental care shortage area across the state. Experts predict the problem will only get worse as more Arizonans get health insurance and Medicaid coverage.... Read more»
With Arizona declining to establish a health insurance exchange under the federal Affordable Care Act, a lawmaker wants to make sure the state maintains its oversight of insurers and policies.... Read more»
Gov. Jan Brewer made the prudent fiscal and economic choice by calling for Medicaid expansion. Now the Legislature needs to act. The math is clear. If you had the option of investing $1,650 and getting back $16,000, wouldn’t you do it? Based on AHCCCS estimates, that’s Arizona’s Medicaid expansion deal.... Read more»1
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