Latest news with #Arizonians
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
This bill would have Texans vote on the future of daylight saving time
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Sunday morning will be the 58th year in a row Americans (except Arizonians and Hawaiians) will skip an hour, entering daylight saving time. If a proposed constitutional amendment floating through the Texas legislature passes, it could also be the last time. We asked viewers on Facebook what their thoughts were on the time change, and over 90% showed preference for staying on one time year-round. The problem was figuring out which time Texas should switch to. 'DST is crazy – we'd be no worse of(f) without it,' one viewer commented. 'Please keep daylight savings (sic) time. Earlier sunrise is much better than dark at 4:30,' another wrote. President Donald Trump, who advocated for a permanent change to daylight saving time in December, told reporters on Thursday he ran into a similar problem. 'It's a 50/50 issue,' Trump said. 'I assumed people would like to have more light later. But some people want to have more light earlier.' 'People don't like to have to change the clock,' State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D – Austin, said. Goodwin authored the proposed amendment which would eliminate the time change and give Texas voters the choice: permanent daylight saving time or permanent standard time. 'Whenever I bring it up it's amazing how much conversation it generates. People want to have a say.' Efforts to eliminate the twice-a-year time change have grown in recent years, but none have gotten past the finish line. 'In 2023 Daylight Saving Time legislation received bipartisan support in the Texas House, where members overwhelmingly approved a bill to adopt permanent Daylight Saving Time,' State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D – Laredo, said. Zaffirini authored identical legislation in the Texas Senate. 'Although that effort stalled in the Senate, the broad interest in addressing this issue suggests growing momentum.' Friday afternoon, advocates for eliminating the time change got one more supporter in their corner, State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston. He filed a different, but nearly identical bill to Zaffirini and Goodwin. 'For years, Texans and Americans have debated clock changes, questioning their impact on health, safety, and the economy,' Bettencourt said in a press release. 'I for one, would like to have one time a year, regardless what time is chosen.' If approved by two-thirds of both the Texas Senate and House, voters would get to decide which time to stay on this November. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Arizona moves to ban AI use in reviewing medical claims
Arizona state lawmakers passed new legislation Thursday aiming to restrict the use of artificial intelligence in reviewing medical claims. If signed into law, the bill would ban AI from being used to deny a medical claim or from denying a prior authorization needed for 'medical necessity, experimental status or any other reason that involves the use of medical judgment,' the bill states. The legislation flew threw a 58-0 vote on the state's House floor, with two representatives abstaining. It will now need to be approved by the Arizona state Senate and signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat. The Arizona Medical Association said Friday that it is "optimistic" the bill will be successful in the Senate, adding that it would put "important patient safeguards" in place for health care professionals. "Patients deserve healthcare delivered by humans with compassionate medical expertise, not pattern-based computer algorithms designed by insurance companies," Shelby Job, the association's communications director, said in a statement. "While AI promises innovation for several areas of healthcare, the review and denial of medical insurance claims — some of which represent life-changing treatments and procedures — should be left to physicians who can make nuanced clinical judgements." State Rep. Julie Willoughby, a Republican, sponsored the legislation, telling the House Commerce Committee earlier this month that she hopes the bill will protect Arizonians from losing health care access due to AI interference. 'What we're asking for in this is that any claims that are denied have a provider look them over for completeness to ensure that there isn't anything that the AI algorithm may not have accounted for,' Willoughby said at a committee meeting on Feb. 4. The bill states that a health care provider must "individually review each claim or prior authorization" before a health care insurer is able to deny a claim for that patient. The American Medical Association has called for more oversight in artificial intelligence use by heath insurance companies since 2023 when it was revealed that Cigna, a major health care insurance group, had denied more than 30,000 claims during a review process that used artificial intelligence. Still, experts say there is still little state or federal oversight of "both the development and use of algorithms by health insurers," Carmel Shachar, an assistant clinical professor at Harvard Law School, wrote for Health Affairs. The Arizona legislation comes weeks after California enacted its own version of the bill, which went into effect on Jan. 1. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed legislation in September to ensure that a licensed physician supervises the use of AI decision-making tools when they are used to "inform decisions to approve, modify, or deny requests by providers." California state Sen. Josh Becker, a Democrat, wrote the bill, arguing that AI has "immense potential to enhance healthcare delivery, but it should never replace the expertise and judgment of physicians." 'An algorithm cannot fully understand a patient's unique medical history or needs, and its misuse can lead to devastating consequences," Becker said in a statement on the bill's passing. In the wake of California's law, legislation has also been introduced in at least 11 states to push back on artificial intelligence use in reviewing medical claims. A Texas bill, introduced by state Sen. Charles Schwertner, a Republican, states that an artificial intelligence-based algorithm should not be used as the "sole basis of a decision to wholly or partly deny, delay, or modify health care services." While the bill has not been passed yet, the Texas Coalition of Patients celebrated its introduction last month, saying in a statement that it was "crucial in ensuring that life-altering healthcare decisions remain in the hands of medical professionals rather than Big Insurance's automated systems." This article was originally published on
NBC News
21-02-2025
- Health
- NBC News
Arizona moves to ban AI use in reviewing medical claims
Arizona state lawmakers passed new legislation Thursday aiming to restrict the use of artificial intelligence in reviewing medical claims. If signed into law, the bill would ban AI from being used to deny a medical claim or from denying a prior authorization needed for 'medical necessity, experimental status or any other reason that involves the use of medical judgment,' the bill states. The legislation flew threw a 58-0 vote on the state's House floor, with two representatives abstaining. It will now need to be approved by the Arizona state Senate and signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat. The Arizona Medical Association said Friday that it is "optimistic" the bill will be successful in the Senate, adding that it would put "important patient safeguards" in place for health care professionals. "Patients deserve healthcare delivered by humans with compassionate medical expertise, not pattern-based computer algorithms designed by insurance companies," Shelby Job, the association's communications director, said in a statement. "While AI promises innovation for several areas of healthcare, the review and denial of medical insurance claims — some of which represent life-changing treatments and procedures — should be left to physicians who can make nuanced clinical judgements." State Rep. Julie Willoughby, a Republican, sponsored the legislation, telling the House Commerce Committee earlier this month that she hopes the bill will protect Arizonians from losing health care access due to AI interference. 'What we're asking for in this is that any claims that are denied have a provider look them over for completeness to ensure that there isn't anything that the AI algorithm may not have accounted for,' Willoughby said at a committee meeting on Feb. 4. The bill states that a health care provider must "individually review each claim or prior authorization" before a health care insurer is able to deny a claim for that patient. The American Medical Association has called for more oversight in artificial intelligence use by heath insurance companies since 2023 when it was revealed that Cigna, a major health care insurance group, ha d d enied more than 30,000 claims during a review process that used artificial intelligence. Still, experts say there is still little state or federal oversight of "both the development and use of algorithms by health insurers," Carmel Shachar, an assistant clinical professor at Harvard Law School, wrote for Health Affairs. The Arizona legislation comes weeks after California enacted its own version of the bill, which went into effect on Jan. 1. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed legislation in September to ensure that a licensed physician supervises the use of AI decision-making tools when they are used to "inform decisions to approve, modify, or deny requests by providers." California state Sen. Josh Becker, a Democrat, wrote the bill, arguing that AI has "immense potential to enhance healthcare delivery, but it should never replace the expertise and judgment of physicians." 'An algorithm cannot fully understand a patient's unique medical history or needs, and its misuse can lead to devastating consequences," Becker said in a statement on the bill's passing. In the wake of California's law, legislation has also been introduced in at least 11 states to push back on artificial intelligence use in reviewing medical claims. A Texas bill, introduced by state Sen. Charles Schwertner, a Republican, states that an artificial intelligence-based algorithm should not be used as the "sole basis of a decision to wholly or partly deny, delay, or modify health care services." While the bill has not been passed yet, the Texas Coalition of Patients celebrated its introduction last month, saying in a statement that it was " crucial in ensuring that life-altering healthcare decisions remain in the hands of medical professionals rather than Big Insurance's automated systems."
