The Hobbs Administration is again under political fire for alleged conflicts of interest.
This week, Arizona State Senator T.J. Shope, the Senate President Pro Tempore, issued a statement to announce the recent conclusion of an administrative law judge that “the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCS) improperly awarded contracts for healthcare services for 26,000 elderly and physically disabled individuals enrolled in the Arizona Long Term Care System.” According to the release from Senator Shope, the “determination was based on several factors, including violations of statutes and rules by AHCCCS, prejudice, a lack of transparency, contract awards based on best interests of the agency and not the state, an arbitrary and flawed ranking system of bid proposals, as well as deceptive criteria provided by AHCCCS to health care companies on the evaluations of their bid proposals.”
Shope revealed that “while the judge recommended cancellation of the procurement and issuance of a new request for bid proposals, AHCCCS announced this month it would not do so, and instead, would delay the transition to the newly awarded health plans by one year, commencing in October of 2025.”
In a statement, Shope said, “I’m deeply disturbed by what’s transpired under the Hobbs Administration, from the Sunshine Residential pay-for-play scheme, to now this procurement scandal. The integrity of state government and its spending practices have been compromised. As chairman of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee, it’s my goal to get to the bottom of these disputes and determine whether in fact preferential treatment is being provided using the tax dollars of hardworking Arizonans, and whether our citizens who rely on these critical services are being protected.”
The Senate Republican leader added, “I will be on a fact-finding mission in the coming months and will determine the best course of action to address these cases, whether through legislation, or other legal avenues.”
Earlier this year, The Arizona Republic broke a story about the Arizona Department of Child Safety “approv[ing] what amounts to a nearly 60% increase in the rate that Sunshine Residential Homes Inc. charges to care for a child for a day.” The alleged action to approve the rate increase for the one organization was made while “DCS has denied pay increases to home operators and cut loose 16 providers during the contract renewal process.” The Republic also asserted that “no other standard group home provider was approved for any rate increase during Hobbs’ tenure.”
After the story ran in the Republic, Shope sent a letter on June 5 to both Attorney General Kris Mayes and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, asking both officials to “examine the facts surrounding the Department of Child Safety’s alleged decision to approve a nearly 60% rate increase for Sunshine Residential Homes and determine if conduct by any of the involved parties warrants a criminal or civil investigation.”
State Representative Matt Gress followed up with a letter on June 6 to Mitchell, letting her know that “the Auditor General’s Office stands ready to partner with you in getting the facts about this troubling matter,” and that the Joint Legislative Audit Committee “will allocate the resources the Auditor General needs to help restore what appears to be a major breach of trust in our government.”
That day (June 7), Mayes fired off two letters to both Mitchell and the Arizona Auditor General, Lindsey Perry, over the investigation. Mayes told County Attorney Mitchell that “it would not be appropriate or in the best interest of the state to conduct parallel investigations into the same matter,” and that “a separate process conducted by the MCAO could jeopardize the integrity of the criminal investigation that my office will now proceed with.”
Mayes similarly told Auditor General Perry that “while [the Auditor General’s] office is statutorily authorized to examine records and conduct audits at the direction of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, at this time, the assistance of [her] office is not needed by the Attorney General’s Office for our investigation.”
After the letters from Mayes, Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee sent a letter to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, requesting “that [she] investigate the allegations that have occurred in [her] jurisdiction.” Yee also delivered a letter to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, highlighting that the state’s top cop’s assertion that her office had singular control over any investigation “is not appropriate or authorized by law, as those entities have separate jurisdiction to investigate this matter.”
After receiving the letters from Senator T.J. Shope and Gress, County Attorney Mitchell informed them that her office was “contacted by the Arizona Auditor General asking that the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office serve as the prosecution office that will work with them while they conduct an investigation into this matter.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Governor Katie Hobbs announced that she would be recognizing birth control as a right, starting with state employees.
The governor issued an executive order on Monday announcing free birth control for state employees, and ordered the state’s Medicaid agency, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), to expand contraception access to its members.
The state already issues oral contraceptives to employees at no cost, but only through a prescription. Hobbs’ executive order got rid of the prescription requirement, ordering the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) to cover the cost of current and future over-the-counter contraceptives for state employees.
Hobbs referenced Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli’s take on contraceptives as a criticism of Republicans hesitant to make birth control a right for Arizonans through legislation dubbed the “Right to Contraception Act.”
“While members of our legislature would rather tell Arizona women to put aspirin between their knees than pass the Arizona Right to Contraception Act, I will continue to do everything in my power to protect our reproductive freedom and ensure every Arizonan can access contraception,” said Hobbs.
Access to contraception is a right — and now, I am taking action to protect that right by issuing an Executive Order to expand access to free and affordable birth control for Arizonans.
My EO will make birth control available at no cost to State employees and require @AHCCCSgov…
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) May 20, 2024
Earlier this month, the governor signed into law a repeal of the longstanding and, until the past year, dormant total abortion ban. Now, state law only restricts abortions after 15 weeks.
The governor’s most recent executive order declared that contraceptives qualify as “essential health benefits” (EHB) required of health plans by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or “Obamacare.” And, recent changes to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) enabled states to have more flexibility to determine its EHB-benchmark plan set of benefits.
Only the prescription contraceptives qualified as EHB, not over-the-counter ones. Hobbs’ executive order changed that. For now, that only applies to Opill, the only FDA-approved over-the-counter birth control option.
Excluding the universities and Board of Regents, both of which operate their own personnel systems, nearly 56 percent of the state’s nearly 38,300-strong workforce is female: around 21,300 individuals.
Age ranges weren’t defined by ADOA’s annual report, though the average age across both genders was about 44 years old, under the average age of menopause.
The retail price of Opill, the over-the-counter targeted by Hobbs’ executive order, retails at up to $20 per month for a one-month supply.
ASU has more than 20,600 employees. According to their last 10-year report of campus demographics ending in 2022, the university had nearly 10,600 female employees, though the age ranges weren’t disclosed.
The University of Arizona reported nearly 16,700 employees last fall, with about 56 percent of them identifying as female. Age wasn’t disclosed.
Northern Arizona University’s annual report shared they had over 4,600 total faculty and staff last year, not distinguished by gender or age.
ADOA will also be required to provide several reports to Hobbs’ office, one of which will be on benefits and feasibility of access expansion for state employees. That report will be due by June 30.
Another report with ADOA and the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions will study the benefits and feasibility of a new Arizona Essential Health Benefits Benchmark Plan mandating reproductive healthcare benefits for individual and small group private health insurance plans, including prescription and over-the-counter contraceptives, reversible contraceptives, infertility treatment, and in vitro fertilization.
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During the first months of the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, the use of telehealth increased significantly. In fact, overall, almost half of the people who were undergoing treatment when the pandemic shutdown began reported using some form of telemedicine.
From a new RAND Corporation study, those findings make the news of Governor Doug Ducey’s decision to sign telemedicine legislation all the more welcome to individuals still hesitant to venture out.
House Bill 2454, sponsored by Rep. Regina Cobb, will make telemedicine services provided to Arizonans through the Governor’s Executive Order last March permanent. The governor’s order required health care insurance companies to expand telemedicine coverage for all services that would normally be covered for an in-person visit.
The bill expands access to telemedicine for patients and ensures that doctors receive equal compensation from insurance companies for telemedicine services and allows out-of-state health care professionals to provide telemedicine in Arizona.
“Telehealth was an extremely valuable tool during the pandemic,” said Cobb. “It’s helped Arizonans get in contact with health care providers, mental health specialists, speech therapists, and more from the safety of their home. HB 2454 will continue those efforts and ensure that those living in Arizona receive medical service in a safe and convenient manner.”
According to findings published in the Journal of General, between mid-March and early May 2020, telehealth was used by more than 40% of patients with a chronic physical health condition and by more than 50% of those with a behavioral health condition, according to findings published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Under the bill, medical examinations in the worker’s compensation space can also be conducted via telehealth if all parties consent. It also prohibits healthcare boards from enforcing any rule that requires a patient to visit in-person before being prescribed most medications.
“HB 2454 is a win for physicians and patients alike,” said Arizona Medical Association President Dr. Miriam Anand. “Every patient deserves access to the appropriate care needed to treat their medical conditions. HB 2454 will break down unnecessary barriers to telehealth and help facilitate the delivery of high-quality care to patients across Arizona.”
HB 2454 also requires medical insurers to provide payment parity for telehealth services using audio and visual features and allows health care providers who are licensed in other states to provide telehealth services into Arizona under certain conditions.
According to the JLBC, “the bill establishes the Telehealth Advisory Committee on Telehealth Best Practices which would be tasked with recommending other health care service that may be appropriately provided through an audio-only telehealth format. These services would be covered services starting January 1, 2022 but would not require payment parity.”
The bill does not apply to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) but does require health insurers to cover audio-only health care services if those services are covered by AHCCCS or Medicare.
