skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, September 20, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

U.S. gender wage gap grows for first time in a decade; Trump has embraced NC's Mark Robinson, calling him 'Martin Luther King on steroids'; Volunteers sought as early voting kicks off in MN; Women's political contributions in congressional races fall short of men's.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rising threats of political violence, a Federal Reserve rate cut, crypto industry campaign contributions and reproductive rights are shaping today's political landscape.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Experts from Rural Economy Conference Blast GOP Health-Care Plans

play audio
Play

Tuesday, July 25, 2017   

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – As the Senate prepares to vote today on whether to proceed with health-care reform, experts at a conference on rural health in Flagstaff that starts today are warning that the proposed cuts to Medicaid would be a disaster for small-town Arizona.

The Congressional Budget Office says 22-32 million Americans could lose health-insurance coverage over the next ten years - depending on which bill the Senate considers passing.

Siman Quaasim, director of Health Policy at the Children's Action Alliance, says 400,000 Arizonans could lose coverage - many of them in small towns.

"The policies being put forward in Washington are not the policies that work for our state," she says. "We need solutions that make the lives of rural Arizonans better, their families healthier, and more economically independent. Not proposals that shut them out of health care, cut rural jobs and expose families to bankruptcy."

A recent study showed that in non-metro areas, 54 percent of children are covered by Medicaid, which is called AHCCCS in Arizona. And 17 percent of older rural adults rely on Medicaid for long-term care and services that help them stay in their homes.

Dan Derksen, director of the Arizona Center for Rural Health at the U of A, says the state stands to lose $7-14 billion in federal funding over the next ten years - which could cost up to 25,000 jobs in the health care sector.

And, he notes the state would have a hard time plugging the massive hole blown in the budget.

"So the state general fund would have to come up with another half billion dollars just to maintain childless adult coverage that we had expanded more than a decade ago in Arizona," he says.

Derksen warns that the GOP health plans could put many rural hospitals out of business, and take local pharmacies and nursing homes down with them. He says he'd like to see Congress work on bipartisan fixes to the ACA to increase competition in the health-insurance market and bring down premiums.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Some 899 of 936 public comments on the plan for the proposed West Fork Dam, or 96%, opposed the West Fork Battle Creek Dam project, according to a tally by Wyofile. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A federal agency is requiring Wyoming to update cost estimates for a large proposed dam in Carbon County, which has been under feasibility studies …


Social Issues

play sound

This Saturday marks the International Day of Peace and the advocacy group Nonviolent Peaceforce is kicking off a series of family-friendly events in M…

Environment

play sound

Latino Conservation Week is in full swing, with 330 events across the U.S. and 90 in California alone. The 11th annual event runs through Sunday…


Nebraska is one of 10 states to confirmed abortion-related constitutional amendment measures on the ballot in November. (Alcorn Imagery/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Some ballot initiatives this year have taken more than voter signatures to get onto the ballot in Nebraska. They've already withstood major court …

Environment

play sound

Maine officials are stepping up land conservation projects as climate change continues to alter the state's terrain. New funding from the Land for …

Social Issues

play sound

A new study showed as Texas has emerged as a national leader in wind turbine and solar energy installations, clean energy workers often face …

play sound

Students enrolled at Wisconsin's technical colleges this fall might take a course where artificial intelligence is the star of the classroom…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021