Budget negotiations and the ceremonial signing of HB2332.
CMS issuing hospital price transparency guidance.
A study showing that Medicaid expansion reduces mortality.
Budget negotiations and ceremonial signing of HB2332
After a week-long recess, the Legislature returned to the Capitol on Wednesday.
Despite reconvening, budget negotiations remain elusive, still driven by speculation rather than substance. At this stage, no concrete progress has been shared publicly.
AzHHA continues to closely track developments, particularly those related to our budget priorities: the critical access hospital supplemental pool and the hospital assessment. We remain hopeful that more clarity will emerge in the coming week.
HB2332 ceremonial signing - elevating maternal health: Last Thursday, Governor Katie Hobbs hosted a ceremonial bill signing for HB2332 (postpartum depression; treatment; insurers), a key legislative victory for maternal health in Arizona. AzHHA was honored to join a group of dedicated stakeholders for the event at the Governor’s office (photo above).
This bill reflects a growing commitment to addressing maternal mental health and access to care in underserved communities—a priority that AzHHA’s Public Policy Committee and the Board of Directors formally adopted last year.
We were proud to support maternal mental health in Arizona with HB2332 and successfully advocate for an amendment establishing a state advisory committee focused on maternal health and OBGYN access across Arizona.
We extend our sincere thanks to Representative Julie Willoughby (R-Dist. 13) for championing this critical issue and to Governor Hobbs for acknowledging maternal health as a statewide priority.
AzHHA looks forward to collaborating with both member and non-member hospitals and healthcare leaders on the advisory committee, which will deliver recommendations to the Governor and Legislature by Dec. 31, 2026.
CMS issues hospital price transparency guidance
On Thursday, May 22, 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its hospital price transparency guidance, requiring hospitals to provide more specific pricing information for services. CMS also issued a Request for Information (RFI) on improving hospital price transparency.
Why it matters: The guidance was issued in response to President Trump’s Feb. 25 Executive Order to improve healthcare price transparency for Americans.
Hospitals are currently required to post information on standard charges for items and services it provides.
The hospital price transparency guidance:
Requires hospitals to use the average dollar amount received over the prior 12-months whenever possible.
Specifies that if no historical data exists, hospitals should use the expected dollar amount of the payment.
What's next: Comments for the RFI are due by Monday, July 21, 2025.
Medicaid expansion reduces mortality: Study
Earlier this month, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) released a working paper looking at the effect of Medicaid expansion on mortality.
Why it matters: The study examines the causal effect of expansion on mortality in the low-income adult population.
The findings showed that expansions increased Medicaid by 12 percentage points and reduced the mortality of the low-income adult population by 2.5%, suggesting a 21% reduction in the mortality hazard of new enrollees.
Mortality reductions accrued not only to older age cohorts, but also to younger adults, who accounted for nearly half of the life-years saved due to their longer remaining life spans and larger share of the low-income adult population.
By the numbers: The study estimated that Medicaid expansion had direct budgetary costs of $179,000 per life-year saved, making it relatively cost effective compared to other common mortality-reducing mechanisms, such as automobile inspection ($311,000 per life year saved) or pesticide control ($405,000 per life year saved).
Starting next week, AzHHA will open our 2025 Member Survey.
This survey is for CEOs of member hospitals only.
Why it matters: The survey helps us understand if we are meeting the needs of our members with policy and advocacy work as well as additional services and programs.
The big picture:
The survey will run from Monday, June 2 to Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
All CEOs of AzHHA member hospitals will receive the survey link via email on the day the survey opens.
It will take no more than five minutes to complete.
What’s next: If you are in the target audience for this survey, please keep an eye out for the survey email and share your feedback.
Join the Arizona Coalition for Healthcare Emergency Response (AzCHER) for its fifth annual conference from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at the Arizona Broadway Theatre.
Why it matters: In these challenging times, our teams need inspiration, connection and support more than ever.
We’ll focus on addressing those needs and on the critical areas of readiness, response and recovery.
Together, we’ll explore and deliver insights on these topics, ensuring we are prepared for any situation, can respond effectively and recover swiftly.
AzHHA member webinar: Leveraging price transparency data for strategic payer conversations
Intellimed will host a webinar from 12 to 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, June 12, 2025 on Zoom for AzHHA members.
Why it matters: This session will provide an in-depth look at how hospitals can use Intellimed’s newly available transparency in coverage (TIC) data to support strategic payer negotiations.
This federally mandated data is available to AzHHA members and includes published reimbursement rates from payers offering unprecedented insights into market-rate comparisons.
Participants will learn how to:
Benchmark reimbursement rates against market norms.
Identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.
Strengthen negotiation strategies with practical use cases.
In relationship with DataGen, AzHHA distributes reports to hospitals based on information submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. DataGen generates hospital-specific reports which are sent to AzHHA hospital members as part of their membership.
Why it matters: This data helps hospitals understand the financial impact of proposed changes and annual updates.
The reports can also assist in preparing budgets or benchmarking results with other similar organizations.
Wednesday, June 11 - 2025 AzCHER Conference Join the Arizona Coalition for Healthcare Emergency Response (AzCHER) for its fifth annual conference. In these challenging times, our teams need inspiration, connection and support more than ever. The conference will focus on addressing these needs and on the critical areas of readiness, response and recovery. Register by Tuesday, June 3, 2025.
American Indians into Health Professions Summer Program - applications due Friday, June 13, 2025 The University of Arizona offers a week-long summer program designed to serve tribal youth and adults interested in health professions. The youth program (high school juniors and seniors) is July 21-25 and the adult program (age 18+) is July 28-Aug. 1. For application information, email jupshaw@arizona.edu.
Save the date: 2025 Arizona Hospital Leadership Conference Mark your calendar and plan to engage with healthcare leaders during the AzHHA Foundation’s 2025 Arizona Hospital Leadership Conference. This year’s conference is Oct. 29-31, 2025, at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Ariz. Stay tuned for more information!
