While the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) hasn’t disenrolled Medicaid and KidsCare members, regardless of eligibility, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, AHCCCS is redetermining eligibility for the programs on April 1st.  Eligibility redeterminations come shortly after the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 was passed last December, and includes changes … Read more

Members of Arizona’s Senate Health & Human Services Committee approved two Senate Bills relating to speech and hearing on January 10th. Senate Bill 1016 would make speech therapy services eligible for coverage, while SB 1017 would make cochlear implants eligible for coverage. “Speech therapy has been an issue we’ve been looking at over the last … Read more

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday! This month’s edition of “5 Things We’re Watching” in Arizona health policy features information about the new community health worker certification process, the anticipated positive impacts of a recently passed bill to support the state’s nurse workforce, and an overview of ADHS’s “Talk Heals” campaign to deter … Read more

The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) used supplemental funding to its annual Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Substance Abuse Block Grant funding to launch the “Talk Heals” public awareness campaign to reduce substance misuse among youth in the state.     This supplemental funding was meant to address substance use … Read more

This month’s newsletter includes a breakdown of recommendations presented to the Arizona House’s Teen Mental Health Ad Hoc Committee, the Arizona Center for Rural Health’s proposals for continuing to support the struggling rural health workforce, and insight from the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association about mitigating the decreasing financial operating margins that Arizona hospitals are … Read more

The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) is now able to provide Medicaid coverage for up to 6 months of medically necessary transitional housing for Arizonans experiencing homelessness, Arizonans with a serious mental illness (SMI) designation, and young adults transitioning out of the state foster care system.     CMS authorized the Housing and … Read more

The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s Medicaid program, received a 2022 Medicaid Innovation Award presented by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP). The nonpartisan award recognizes states for demonstrating creativity, leadership, and progress in their Medicaid programs despite significant public health challenges in … Read more

AHCCCS has awarded a new contract to two collaborative vendors who will provide housing and health care services in a new transitional housing facility for individuals experiencing homelessness and living with a Serious Mental Illness (SMI) designation. Copa Health and Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS) have been selected to provide services at a new transitional … Read more

We’re thrilled to have recently kicked off the agenda development process for the 2022 Arizona State of Reform Health Policy Conference. Through this carefully thought-out process, we work closely with stakeholders and within our team to curate conversations and speakers that will be of utmost interest to our Arizona audience. If you haven’t already, register to join us in Phoenix … Read more

Last Tuesday, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) announced that Medicaid and KidsCare disenrollments will soon begin again, with the federal public health emergency expected to expire late in the summer. Kim Russell, executive director of the Arizona Advisory Council on Indian Health Care, said these disenrollments would lead to a significant loss … Read more