APS Rate Hikes & the Corporation Commission’s Industry Capture are Undermining Health
Electricity is already the 2nd second-highest expense for many households, trailing only rent and surpassing even food. Constant rate hikes from our monopoly utilities like APS is making electricity more and more expensive and is seriously damaging the social determinants of health in Arizona. Last week APS filed yet another rate increase request along with a proposal to make their return on equity even higher for their stock shareholders – proposing to
Kennedy Ends US Participation the Global Vaccine Alliance: Is that Really a Bad Thing?
Kennedy announced this week that U.S. is pulling all funding from Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, dealing a big blow to health systems and vaccine access in lower-income countries. This is by no means a surprise as Kennedy is a well-known decades-long opponent of vaccines. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a world‐class public‑private partnership created in 2000 to expand vaccine access in poorer countries who would otherwise be unable to
My Pet Peeve of the Session – HB2704: A $1.3 Billion Gift to Baseball Billionaire Kendrick
Arizona’s State Senate approved HB 2704 last Thursday night, putting taxpayers on the hook for over $1.3 billion, including sales and income taxes, for Chase Field stadium improvements that the Diamondbacks were originally contractually bound to pay for under their 2018 deal with Maricopa County (but failed to do). Monday the House did the same – completing the legislative branch’s role in the giveaway of public funds to Kendrick. Hobbs
Federal Judge Orders NIH to Reinstate Kennedy’s Research Grant Cuts
In a partial win for researchers and public health advocates, a federal judge in Boston ruled this week that Kennedy’s decision to cancel hundreds of National Institutes of Health grants was illegal—and ordered that the funding be immediately restored. The grants, totaling roughly $3.8B, had funded research in areas such as racial disparities in disease, vaccine hesitancy, maternal mortality, and the effects of climate change on human health. Judge Young
State Budget in the Books?
The Senate passed a $17.6B state budget after midnight last Thursday which includes some of Hobbs’ priorities and some priorities on both Senate Dems and Republicans. The 10 or so budget bills still need to be passed by the House before the end of the month. That’s easier said than done as the more conservative House leadership (R) is unwilling to bring the Senate bills to the House floor even
View Our AZPHA Breakfast & Learn Public Health Under Siege: How the American Public Health Association is Fighting Back
Public health is under siege. From destructive policy changes to the indiscriminate firing of experienced experts at the CDC, FDA, and other HHS agencies – decisions by Secretary Kennedy are putting the nation’s health—and the future of biomedical research—at serious risk. Fortunately the American Public Health Association has come to the rescue – filing lawsuits, motions and briefs in several lawsuits challenging Kennedy’s harmful decisions. Rebecca Boulos, Don Hoppert and