Latest news with #BruceBabbitt
E&E News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
Conservation CEO on fighting Trump and relishing the outdoors
This tumultuous year marks the 25th anniversary of the National Conservation Lands system, which encompasses 906 units and more than 38 million acres overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. For Chris Hill, chief executive officer of the nonprofit Conservation Lands Foundation since last September, 2025 has brought both commemoration and rallying cries. She recently helped celebrate the anniversary with former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, who instigated the system during the tail end of the Clinton administration. Dividing her time between Alaska and Washington, Hill has also pushed back against the Trump administration's public lands policies. Hill previously worked for the Sierra Club for nearly eight years, including 14 months as the organization's chief conservation officer. She was the first Black woman to have that responsibility at the environmental organization founded in 1892. Advertisement A Washington-area native, Hill graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in broadcasting communications and electronic media. She subsequently earned a law degree from Vermont Law and Graduate School.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What is Medicaid and how does it work in Arizona? Here's what to know
Arizona's $21 billion Medicaid program is government health insurance that as of February provided coverage to roughly one in every four state residents or 2 million people. Known as the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System or AHCCCS (pronounced "access"), the state's Medicaid program has been around since 1982 and reached a record-high enrollment of 2.5 million Arizonans in early 2023. AHCCCS primarily provides health coverage to low-income people typically living at about 138% or less of the federal poverty level and to people with disabilities, though financial thresholds for various programs vary. An annual income of $21,597 per year for a single person is 138% of the federal poverty level and for a family of three, it's an annual household income of $36,777. Here are seven things to know about AHCCCS in Arizona. Any Arizonan covered by AHCCCS is covered by Medicaid because they are the same. Medicaid is the name of the federal program and each state has its own Medicaid program. Arizona's program is known as AHCCCS. Some other states have their own names for their Medicaid programs. For example, California's program is called Medi-Cal, Colorado's is called Health First Colorado, and in the state of Washington, it's called Apple Health. Medicare is a government health insurance program primarily for people over the age of 65. Some people are known as "dual eligible," meaning they have both Medicare and Medicaid coverage. In Arizona, there are 250,000 dual-eligible people enrolled in both Medicare and AHCCCS, state data shows. Obamacare, which is the same thing as Affordable Care Act health insurance, is not Medicaid or Medicare. Rather, it is private health insurance that is available on state and federal marketplaces with federal subsidies available to eligible people to help pay for it. Medicaid was authorized in 1965 when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare and Medicaid Act, also known as the Social Security Amendments of 1965, into law. Yet Arizona's program didn't start until nearly two decades later in 1982, when it began as a two-year pilot. AHCCCS became an independent agency in 1985 under Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt, when enrollment was less than 200,000, which is less than 10% of what it is today. Enrollment numbers have grown as the state's population increased, and as new categories of coverage have been added to the program. Among the new categories is the Arizona Long Term Care System or ALTCS in 1988; KidsCare in 1999; childless adults living at or below the federal poverty level in 2001; Medicaid eligibility expansion in 2013 as allowed by the federal Affordable Care Act; and in 2016, the state health department's division of behavioral health services moved to AHCCCS, putting the agency in charge of the state's system of mental health care, including Arizonans who need behavioral-health services but do not qualify for AHCCCS. As of January, 1.1 million AHCCCS enrollees were adults between the ages of 18 and 64, which works out to 54% of enrollees. Children from newborn through 17 make up more than one-third of all enrollees in the program, with 764,878 children in that age group enrolled statewide as of January, agency data says. AHCCCS records indicate the agency's budget in the 2017 fiscal year was anticipated to be approximately $11.4 billion, nearly half of what it is today. Agency officials say the increase is due to several factors, including caseload growth, health care cost inflation and expanded eligibility criteria for its KidsCare program. In the 2025 fiscal year budget, roughly three-quarters of the agency's funding comes from the federal government and $2.7 billion comes from Arizona's state general fund. The remaining sources of revenue for the program are hospital assessments, county funding, tobacco tax and tobacco settlement money, prescription drug rebate funding and other smaller sources. Enrollment generally has grown, but it did fluctuate significantly during the Great Recession when KidsCare was frozen and childless adults lost eligibility. Both were later restored. KidsCare is Arizona's version of the federal Children's Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. When KidsCare was frozen and before childless adults were restored to AHCCCS eligibility, the amount of uncompensated care at Arizona hospitals rose, and between 17% and 20% of state residents were uninsured. The rate of uninsured people in Arizona as of 2024 was 8.7%, the U.S. Census Bureau says. Hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid money was fleeced from Arizona taxpayers as part of a scheme that preyed on Indigenous people, according to a massive multiagency fraud investigation that revealed its findings in May 2023. In fiscal year 2019, the behavioral health outpatient billing code, which was one of the main codes the alleged perpetrators were using, billed $53 million to AHCCCS, Attorney General Kris Mayes said. In 2020, it went up to $132 million; in 2021, up to $291 million; and in 2022, up to $668 million, which is more than 12 times the 2019 amount. During a news conference announcing the fraud, Mayes called the loss of money a "stunning failure of government." "I don't think it is too much to say that this is one of the biggest scandals in the history of the state of Arizona when it comes to our government," she said. Reach health care reporter Stephanie Innes at or at 602-444-8369. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @stephanieinnes. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What to know about Medicaid in Arizona, a $20.7 billion program
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As governor, I'm not just talking about Arizona's problems. I'm fixing them
In my State of the State address and executive budget, I shared my vision for an Arizona that is laser-focused on delivering security, opportunity and freedom for our state. That vision is the Arizona Promise — the one Arizonans elected me to deliver. The Arizona Promise means families feel safe in their communities and our border is secure, that Arizonans have the opportunity to get ahead without working two or three jobs, that we have the freedom to live our lives as we see fit without government interference. It's what Arizona, at its best, has always stood for, but for too long politicians have let it slip away. I have taken definitive, measurable action to restore the Arizona Promise. So, it was disappointing to read a recent Arizona Republic editorial that did not acknowledge its own paper's reporting on the work my administration has done to secure our water future, protect Arizona from wildfires and create good-paying jobs by securing historic semiconductor industry investments. On top of that, my executive budget takes common sense steps to grow on our success by cutting costs for working families and investing in public safety. And I'm not just speaking loudly about these critical issues — contrary to what the editorial board suggested — I'm taking decisive action. I have used my 'bully pulpit' to protect groundwater and fight for our fair share of the Colorado River. In fact, after I traveled to the Willcox basin, witnessed family farms going dry and saw houses cracking in half due to overpumping, I took action without hesitation. I enacted the first governor-led Active Management Area in the Willcox basin to protect our water. When foreign corporations were pumping a rural county dry, I again took action to protect Arizona families and farmers. I ended Fondomonte leases in the Butler Valley. I did this without hesitation, before the editorial board made this recommendation. I'm proud to say I've done more to protect our groundwater than any governor in the last four decades, since Bruce Babbitt passed the historic Groundwater Management Act. I'm also fighting to protect our Colorado River water. As reported many times by this very news organization, I've already secured a deal on the Colorado River to protect Arizonans through 2026 from federally mandated, draconian cuts. Thanks to my leadership, no Arizonan will be forced to cut their water use. And while we work toward a long-term Colorado River compromise, my executive budget sends a clear message that Arizona is ready to fight for our fair share, with a $3 million litigation fund. The Arizona Promise also means we stand ready to fight wildfires. I've already secured $29 million to build wildfire resiliency. And my proposed budget includes another $30 million to bolster our Wildfire Suppression Fund. Most importantly, it includes a 15% raise for our state firefighters, who work tirelessly to prevent disaster and remain willing to run toward danger. Opinion: Hobbs' budget is out of touch The editorial board also suggested I help put our state in a position to recognize and maximize opportunities from the CHIPS Act. I couldn't agree more. In fact, as reported in The Arizona Republic, my administration helped secure $3 billion in federal funding for Arizona's first national laboratory, a facility that is certain to help attract billions of dollars in further business investment and create thousands more good-paying jobs for Arizona workers. All of this is in addition to my commitment to secure the southern border. I deployed the Arizona National Guard and stood up Task Force SAFE, which has stopped 8 million fentanyl pills from coming across the border and poisoning our communities, in addition to more than 2,000 pounds of cocaine, meth and other drugs. When I travel the state, Arizonans talk about the cost of housing, child care and food. They worry about water, fires and immigration. My plan lowers the cost of child care by two-thirds and lowers the cost of housing by cutting red tape and helping working-class people buy their first home. My budget provides even more resources to secure the border and stop the flow of drugs. It offers pay raises for state police and firefighters because they need to be paid what they're worth. I also set out an ambitious plan to end veterans' homelessness with a down payment into the Homes for Heroes fund to support the men and women who have given so much to our country. I've heard from the people of Arizona, and I'm committed to standing with them. I know these aren't Republican issues or Democratic issues — they're Arizona issues — and it's why I've taken them on. While there remains much to do, I'm delivering. Like the editorial board wisely suggested. Katie Hobbs is governor of Arizona. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @GovernorHobbs. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Katie Hobbs is taking strong action on water, fires, border | Opinion
