House Republicans pushed the U.S. to the edge of a fiscal crisis because they wanted deep cuts in spending - but the budget was designed to appeal to enough Republicans and Democrats to get it through Congress and does hardly anything to address America’s debt problem. Read more»

The federal response to mass unemployment and business closures due to COVID-19 helped fast-track the recovery - but the lasting effects of the pandemic on the labor force and how well prepared policy makers are to handle a potential recession or another pandemic is unclear. Read more»

Arizona and other states are once again free to verify that Medicaid enrollees are still qualified and cancel coverage if they’re not, and as many as 15 million Americans, including 7 million children, could lose the health coverage they relied on through the pandemic. Read more»

AHCCCS is encouraging recipients to make sure contact information is current and to keep an eye out for correspondence as Arizona begins purging people from pandemic-inflated Medicaid rolls this month, a process that could push more than 600,000 people off the plan. Read more»

U.S. maternal mortality rates keep growing, an anomaly compared to other economically similar countries, and nine states - including Arizona - are waiting on approval from the CDC to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage to reduce the numbers. Read more»

States are spending more money and creating new incentives to ease the severe child care crisis, with most federal pandemic aid set to dry up in September. Read more»

The Biden administration’s decision to end the COVID-19 public health emergency in May will institute sweeping changes across the health care system that go far beyond many people having to pay more for COVID tests. Read more»

In response to a yearslong decline in the mental health of the nation’s children and teens, officials are using COVID-19 relief dollars and their own money to build support services to recognize the symptoms of mental illness and help students who are struggling. Read more»

Some of the pandemic relief funding from the federal government will expire later this year, and Arizona school advocates worry extra counselors brought on by schools using the funding may be let go if a way isn't found to keep the positions. Read more»

As pandemic-era benefits end, some 600,000 Arizonans are set to be removed from the Medicaid rolls next year - a situation causing distress to many who are certainly at risk of being disenrolled and also those who may fall just over the income threshold to qualify for Medicaid. Read more»

The conservative majority of the Supreme Court appeared skeptical on Tuesday that President Joe Biden has the authority to forgive billions in student loan debt, but questions remain over whether the states that brought the challenge have the requisite standing to do so. Read more»

In every state, participants in SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, face the loss of pandemic-related benefits in March - if they haven’t already lost them - and states, community groups and food banks are scrambling to help families cope. Read more»

Forty million people in the U.S. are having difficulty affording household expenses, and a little more than 25 million people say they sometimes or often do not have enough to eat, reflecting Americans continuing struggle, made worse by the disappearance of pandemic relief. Read more»

The Treasury released $99.4 million in broadband funding to Arizona, money that officials said could bring broadband internet service to an estimated 127,807 households and businesses around the state. Read more»

Hundreds of thousands of Arizonans are at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage over the next year because they are no longer eligible, and some state lawmakers are looking to speed up the disenrollment process. Read more»