Last Thursday, the Arizona Auditor issued a report finding that the state’s Medicaid agency, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), failed to fulfill four major aspects of its services, including a year delay on average to investigate over half of fraud or abuse incidents.
AHCCCS provides health care coverage to over 2.4 million Arizonans: about 33 percent of the population.
In all, the audit report determined that AHCCCS also failed to: review health plans every three years as required, make correct eligibility determinations, ensure that health plans oversaw providers in two key areas, and establish oversight processes for its Housing Program and Administrator.
In order to remedy these issues, Auditor General Lindsey Perry issued 22 distinct recommendations. AHCCCS agreed to implement all 22 of Perry’s recommendations without contest.
AHCCCS explained that no federal or state regulations mandated the completion of preliminary investigations within 3 months, like Perry recommended, but agreed it was best practice and would adopt that protocol. Likewise, AHCCCS explained it would adopt a self-auditing process to review eligibility determinations, despite there not being any federal or state regulations for such quality assurance reviews.
AHCCCS also noted that its lack of eligibility reviews was due to understaffing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The audit may also result in a change to state law. AHCCCS noted that it wasn’t able to create a monthly report as required by statute. This report — which was to be sent to the governor, the house speaker, and the senate president — was meant to include Title XIX and non-Title XIX categories that outlined the persons served, the units of service, and the amount of funding provided for client services and the amount provided for regional behavioral health authority administration and case management expenses.
In addition to the negative findings of the audit report, AHCCCS is facing a lawsuit filed by several federally-qualified health centers. The community health centers claim that AHCCCS is wrong to deny reimbursements for dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, and chiropractors. Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a decision dismissing the lawsuit.
Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers sued AHCCCS, joined by Canyonlands Healthcare, Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Desert Senita Community Health Center, Mariposa Community Health Center, Marana Health Center, Mountain Park Health Center, Native Health, North Country Healthcare, Sun Life Family Health Center, Sunset Community Health Center, and United Community Health Center-Maria Auxiliadora.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Monday, Gila Bend Mayor Chris Riggs spoke out against Democratic Maricopa County Attorney candidate Julie Gunnigle’s vision for law and order.
Riggs indicated in an interview with Fox News that Gunnigle was far removed from the reality of Biden’s border crisis and the effects of illegal immigration on crime rates, especially along the border, and that her proposed policies would further jeopardize their communities.
Riggs responded to a 2020 clip of Gunnigle discussing her plans for office, which included slashing the police budget and not enforcing deportations.
“Justice should be an individualized determination that is driven by all of the issues that are happening in someone’s life, up to and including immigration status,” said Gunnigle.
"The Democrat running for Maricopa County DA, @JulieGunnigle … wants to protect illegal migrants from deportation. She also wants to slash the @PhoenixPolice Department budget … Who would vote for this person is beyond me." pic.twitter.com/5JBhUa83kG
In response, Riggs invited Gunnigle to visit the border and experience illegal immigration’s effects for herself — this past weekend, that included three homicides in his town.
Riggs said that they’ve experienced an uptick in crime correlating with the swell of illegal immigrants crossing the border. Riggs explained that federal restrictions already render Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) unable to enforce the law, and noted that Gunnigle’s vision would exacerbate those issues.
“Just Saturday, I had three homicides here, and this is a community that hasn’t seen a homicide in probably 100 years,” said Riggs.
Gunnigle’s current and past campaign platforms echo that of fellow George Soros-backed progressive district and county attorneys.
During her first run for Maricopa County attorney in July 2020, Gunnigle shared that she supported severe budget slashing for police through the “25 Saves Phoenix Lives,” a plan to divert $25 million from police toward youth and mental health programs.
Gunnigle also pledged to end cash bail, eliminate private prisons, discourage imprisonment for probation violations, eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing, implement diversion programs for drug crimes, stop systemic racism, and increase investigations into police.
This time around, Gunnigle insists that she wouldn’t influence police budgets if elected. Much of her past proposals made it onto her new campaign platform; she also includes a pledge to not prosecute abortion crimes, protect voting rights, make cannabis expungement universal and automatic, and to hire “people of color” to office.
At this point, my opponent deflects and claims that the real issue in this race is police funding.
I'll say it louder for those in the back: The County Attorney does not control police budgets.
The Navajo Nation spoke out again this week against the Biden administration’s efforts to undermine fossil fuel development. Their reservation is the largest of all, spanning across three states along the Four Corners Monument: Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.
In an interview with Fox News, Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company CEO James McClure explained that fossil fuels earn them over $75 million in annual revenue — over half of the tribe’s annual budget — yet, the Biden administration hasn’t given support in recognition of that “very important” fact.
“The current administration has worked to support the Navajo Nation on most clean energy initiatives,” McClure told Fox News Digital. “The same cannot be said of oil and gas development.”
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and the Navajo Nation Council oppose the Biden administration’s plans to eradicate fossil fuel development. The Department of Interior (DOI) will soon implement a 20-year ban on oil and gas leasing. President Joe Biden first announced the ban last November, as part of his ongoing pledge to counter climate change with fossil fuel eradication.
The ban would jeopardize the $6.2 million annual royalties earned by the tribe. The DOI has told reporters repeatedly that the Biden administration would ultimately support tribes’ desired land use.
Tribes deserve a seat at the decision-making table before policies that impact their communities are made. The first-ever Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee will help Tribal leaders engage with the highest levels of the @Interior on issues that matter most to their people. https://t.co/CfJQ4YieVw
However, that promise stands in conflict with Biden’s rhetoric around fossil fuels. During a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in March, Biden said that those profiting off of fossil fuels needed to sacrifice for the greater good of the country.
“My message is, it’s time in this time of war, it’s not a time of profit. It’s time for reinvesting in America,” said Biden. “This crisis is another indication why we need to get off dependency on fossil fuels.”
Conrad Stewart, the Crow Nation of Montana’s director of energy and water, also stressed to Fox News that their tribes’ economic well-being depends on fossil fuel development.
“A war on coal is a war on Crow,” said Stewart.
That phrase, “war on coal,” refers to the continuation of former President Barack Obama’s policies within the Biden administration. During Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s confirmation hearing last January, Granholm disclosed that “jobs might be sacrificed” under these policies.
Joe Biden's Energy Secretary nominee Jennifer Granholm admitted that there are “jobs that might be sacrificed” with Biden’s federal lands fracking banhttps://t.co/drlVfgMKNqpic.twitter.com/FpkofBzgZ7
Around the time of Granholm’s confirmation hearing, the Ute Indian Tribe asked the U.S. Interior Department for an exemption to the suspension on federal and tribal land leases and permits for oil and gas.
Reservations produce over 3 percent of the country’s oil and gas reserves untapped; according to a 2014 report, their lands contain about 20 percent of the oil and gas reserves, and 30 percent of domestic coal reserves west of the Mississippi River. A report from S&P Global Platts estimated that 12 of the 326 tribal reservations produce significant oil.
Another major tribe that relies heavily on fossil fuel development is the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Their chairman, Mark Fox, estimated in 2020 that oil accounted for 90 percent of their revenue. Last year, Fox told Fox News that fossil fuels ensured that their forthcoming generations would have a home.
Not all Native American tribes oppose the Biden administration’s efforts to curb fossil fuel development. Those tribes that don’t rely on those resources, such as the Standing Rock Sioux, support the Biden administration.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Just a month ahead of the November midterms, Maricopa County announced its new “Elections Command Center” to combat disinformation, and that it would limit press access on county property.
The first line of the press release issued on Tuesday emphasized that county officials across different fields of expertise teamed up together for the greater good when instituting these changes.
“Six elected officials and a team of elections and communications professionals are coming together as one ahead of the 2022 November General Election in Maricopa County,” stated the county.
NEW: Board, Recorder, and @maricopavote establish the 2022 Elections Command Center as a central hub of info leading up to & following the Nov. 8 General Election. Plan to host regular news conferences in October and November for credentialed media. More: https://t.co/CZTTfRrrhRpic.twitter.com/BTKNlNrTK9
With this new command center will come tighter restrictions on press access to the county. The county now requires the media to have press passes to enter its facilities and cover election events.
“Because of logistical and security considerations, it is impossible to give the public and media limitless access to Members of the Board of Supervisors, the County Recorder and election experts for events such as press conferences and availabilities,” stated the signup page.
— Stephen Richer—Maricopa Cnty Recorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) September 27, 2022
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) Chairman Bill Gates indicated that the Elections Command Center would serve as an improved information dissemination platform compared to traditional social media and mainstream media outlets.
“The Command Center will further deliver on that promise by creating a structure that allows us to reach more people, faster, with factual information about how elections are run and how people can successfully participate,” said Gates.
I'm excited about this Command Center because it will create a structure that allows @maricopavote & @RecordersOffice to reach more people, faster, with factual information about how elections are run and how people can successfully participate. https://t.co/jTv7e7XsdI
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer added that the county’s decision to establish an additional communications hub wasn’t an indictment of their recent management of the primary election, but rather a commitment to improvement.
“We ran a terrific primary election, but because of our ‘continuous improvement’ work ethic, we will have an incredible communications team assembled that will allow us to better respond to constituent concerns and combat misinformation during the General Election,” said Richer.
The Elections Command Center will be responsible for informing voters about deadlines and election processes, engaging with media, addressing mass-spread rumors and false information, and issuing updates on election results. Additionally, the command center officials will host live-streamed press conferences in the upcoming months.
The county implemented a similar command center in April 2020 to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the “Maricopa County Unified Command Center.”
Another unusual but busy day. Started with our Board of Supervisors meeting using our social distancing format. From there visited our Maricopa County Joint Information Command center for COVID-19. Very impressive coordinated effort to help minimize the impact of this virus. pic.twitter.com/Ar5RKf2HYl
On Wednesday, the Department of Education (ED) announced the distribution of over $20.8 million to increase mental health oversight in Arizona schools.
The funds may be applied to a variety of mental, social, and emotional initiatives within schools. This includes school counseling, mentorships, and bullying and harassment prevention.
During a press call on Wednesday, the ED featured insight from Dr. Marty Pollio, the Jefferson County Public Schools superintendent in Louisville, Kentucky. Pollio said that the SCG funds allowed for three means of school improvement:
Identify students in need and in crisis who need mental health support like counseling;
Reduce the counselor-to-student ratio;
Train teachers on how to identify troubled students and support school personnel.
Pollio suggested that mental health professionals, such as board-certified behavioral analysts, should be deployed to classrooms to identify problematic students.
“Educators have to do more than ever,” said Pollio.
AZ Free News asked the Biden administration whether they would be providing guidelines for behavior analysis enabled by SCG funds, such as what students would be deemed problematic as Pollio suggested. The ED said they weren’t providing guidelines. Rather, the ED said that level of management would be up to the states and districts.
“[The SCG] allows states and districts to tailor their funds to each district and school,” said one of the officials.
The funds come from the Strong Connections Grant (SCG) within the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA). Nationwide, grant funds totaled over $971 million.
Today, ED announced nearly $1 billion in Stronger Connections grants through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) to support students’ physical, emotional, & mental well-being – real benefits for students across the country. https://t.co/WwxaZ4tQGZ
ED Secretary Miguel Cardona asserted that teachers have been handling student behaviors on limited funding and resources, and that students behaved better with reduced disciplinary action and increased promotion of positive behavior. Cardona noted that in all, investments to improve mental health in schools through SCG total $1 billion.
“We must broaden our focus beyond physically safe learning environments,” said Cardona. “If we’re serious about equity and opportunity, we must expand our definitions of learning and growth to include mental and emotional health.”
President Joe Biden’s special assistant for education policy, Maureen Tracey-Mooney, said that the SCG funds are designed for “high impact strategies” that would ultimately impact home life, such as counseling, tutoring, mentoring, and summer learning.
Earlier this month, Cardona sent a letter to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) notifying them of this recent investment. Cardona’s letter provides educators with suggestions and guidelines on how to implement the SCG funding.
The ADE will decide which school districts will receive the SCG funds and oversee their expenditure. However, the ED retains the authority to audit and investigate schools’ use of the SCG funds.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
