Public Health Journalism this Week
WATCH: Sen. Barrasso questions RFK Jr. in Trump budget request hearing Measles cases in Maricopa County, Arizona, reach 30-year high Lung Association report gives Phoenix air quality low grade Sharareh Najafi-Piper calls Copa Health suit a smear campaign Over 450,000 Arizonans have been removed from SNAP program since July, including 196,000 kids After caregiver is accused of sexually abusing a resident, AZ lawmakers consider camera bill again How mosquitoes
Spot Bad Arguments Before They Spread
Dr. Greg Loeben joined us today for our Conversations & Coffee event and took on a problem every public health professional runs into: misleading arguments that sound convincing but fall apart under scrutiny. His core points were that bad reasoning spreads faster than good evidence. If you can recognize the pattern, you can respond more effectively in real time. Greg walked through seven common logical fallacies that show up all the
AHCCCS 101, Part 3: Contract Management & Accountability
In Part 1, we walked through why Arizona built AHCCCS using managed care from the beginning. In Part 2, we covered how the state gets permission from the federal government to design and update the program using waivers and State Plan Amendments. AHCCCS 101 (Part 1 of 4): AHCCCS’ Origin Story – Why Arizona Built Medicaid Different – AZ Public Health Association AHCCCS 101 (Part 2 of 4): Waivers, State
Two-Minute Warning at the Capitol (but both sides have unlimited time outs)
If you read our late-March update—Committee Deadlines Hit, Floor Action Accelerates, and Budget Negotiations Start—we said we were in the “late third quarter” of the legislative session. Fast forward a few weeks, and now we’re at the two-minute warning. Arizona’s “100-day session” is more of a suggestion than a rule, especially with divided government. Legislature leaders can keep things going, and they often do, but less so on election years
AG Mayes Compels APS to Stop Cutting Off People’s Power When Temps are Over 95°F
This week Attorney General Kris Mayes compelled Arizona Public Service to stop cutting off people’s power when temperatures are above 95°F. Attorney General Mayes Secures $7 Million Settlement with APS Following Investigation into Disconnection Practices During Extreme Heat | Attorney General’s Office APS would never have done this on their own. This was only done in response to a $7M settlement with APS pressed by Mayes – resolving allegations that APS violated the Arizona
Some Welcome News for Public Health (maybe_
This week brought a surprise and some relief (maybe). The president nominated Erica Schwartz, MD, JD to lead the CDC. She’s a board-certified preventive medicine doctor, a former deputy surgeon general, a retired Coast Guard officer, and has a law degree. More importantly, she actually believes in using evidence to guide public health policy decisions. I gotta say, this pick looks like the president is stomping on Kennedy’s toes pretty