How to stay up-to-date on respiratory virus season.
Opening week at the Legislature
This week marked the start of the second regular session of the 57th Arizona Legislature, signaling what is expected to be a busy, fast-moving legislative year.
On opening day, Governor Katie Hobbs delivered her State of the State address, setting the initial tone and priorities for the session.
State of the State overview: Governor Hobbs framed her remarks around the “Arizona Promise,” focusing on broad themes including economic opportunity, public safety, water security, housing affordability and education.
She pointed to Arizona’s recent economic growth, proposed a $200 million tax cut aimed at middle-class relief, and outlined initiatives to improve government efficiency, expand housing supply and strengthen long-term water planning.
Notably, healthcare received minimal attention. Beyond referencing her administration’s efforts to eliminate medical debt for hundreds of thousands of Arizonans, the governor did not announce new healthcare policy initiatives.
As a result, healthcare policy is expected to be driven largely through legislation this session rather than executive proposals, reinforcing the importance of sustained engagement at the Capitol.
Session snapshot (as of Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026)
Bills introduced: 471, signaling a high-volume session with significant policy activity expected.
Committees: Committee hearings are anticipated to begin within the next few weeks.
Budget: Early indications suggest budget negotiations will again be a central focus of the session.
AzHHA legislative priorities: AzHHA is actively tracking new legislation and continuing its engagement with lawmakers, state agencies and stakeholders on issues affecting hospitals and health systems.
Key focus areas for this session include:
Health plan transparency reporting
Healthcare institution licensing reform
Claims and prior authorization denials
What's next: Additional details and bill-specific updates will be shared as legislation advances through the committee process.
Friday legislative calls: AzHHA’s Friday legislative calls begin this week and provide members with timely updates on legislative activity from the prior week. Participation is limited to AzHHA members.
Registration invitations were sent earlier this week.
Members who would like to participate but did not receive the registration email should contact Donna Di Orio to be added to the list.
The big picture: AzHHA remains committed to advocating for policies that protect patients, strengthen Arizona’s hospitals and health systems and preserve statewide access to care. We look forward to keeping members informed as the session progresses.
For questions or to discuss specific legislation, please contact AzHHA’s Government Relations Director Damien Johnson.
Check out AzHHA’s refreshed website
The new and improved AzHHA website is now live!
Why it matters: The new site offers streamlined navigation, a new and refreshed look and feel, and additional resources and functionality for members.
What you’ll find:
Policy and advocacy: See the details on our 2026 policy agenda, learn more about state and federal issues and how to get involved.
Key issues: Take a deeper dive into the key issues on AzHHA’s radar and its position on each of these topics.
Newsroom: Find the latest news and updates, including press releases and the Connection newsletter archive.
Programs: Check out the wide variety of programs that AzHHA has to offer.
Other resources include information on annual awards presented by AzHHA, a list of upcoming events, the Member Portal login and more!
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has several dashboards available to keep you updated on the latest data for respiratory virus season.
Why it matters: A Respiratory Summary Dashboard is available which includes data about healthcare visits (emergency department and hospitalization), mortality and waste water monitoring.
Dashboards are also available for the following respiratory viruses:
Analysis: Hospital benefits to communities far outweigh tax exemptions
A new analysis from EY prepared for the American Hospital Association (AHA) highlights the ways in which nonprofit hospitals and health system contribute to their communities.
By the numbers: The report found that in 2022:
Nonprofit hospitals and health systems provided $149 billion in total benefits to communities compared to $13.2 billion in federal tax exemptions.
This means that for every dollar in federal exemption, hospitals and health systems delivered $11 in benefits to the communities they served.
Why it matters: That ratio has grown over time, underscoring hospitals’ expanding role in meeting community needs through financial assistance (also called charity care), the provision of services to patients covered by Medicaid or Medicare, health education, research and more.
Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 - The Hertel Report Winter State of the State This bi-annual conference offers networking and timely insights on Arizona’s healthcare market, including Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, the Affordable Care Act Marketplace, ACOs and commercial trends. Speakers include AzHHA’s SVP of Policy and Advocacy Helena Whitney. AzHHA members can use coupon code AZHHA2026 for $15 off. Register here.
