the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced that it has increased by 50% the initial loan repayment amount available to primary care providers—M.D.s and D.O.s, including OB-GYNs and pediatricians; nurse practitioners; certified nurse midwives; and physician assistants—who commit to practicing in areas with significant shortages of primary care providers.

Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema announced $25,018,000 in federal investments they secured for Arizona priorities that include support for Arizona small businesses, wildfire and flood prevention, a stronger microchip manufacturing workforce, increased access to life-saving cancer treatment, increased access to rural health care, and more.

Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) launched a naloxone campaign aimed at combating Arizona’s opioid overdose crisis. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medication, also known by the trade name Narcan, can rapidly reverse opioid overdoses. Every day, five Arizonans die from an opioid overdose.

In the 10 months since Arizona officials announced an investigation into massive Medicaid billing fraud, they’ve maintained the abuse was mostly limited to a small share of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System: behavioral health providers that exploited the agency’s fee-for-service plans.

But the agency acknowledged this week that fraud also spread into its managed care organizations, which oversee 90% of AHCCCS services—meaning the crisis ultimately affected the agency’s entire provider ecosystem, not just those highlighted as the epicenter of the scandal.

The Arizona Social Vulnerabilities Index (AZSVI) provides the Arizona public health workforce, health care providers, policy makers and public a tool to assess the factors impacting Arizona communities, with the aim of addressing disparities and fostering equity.

Twenty-four urban and rural tribal organizations, medical schools, health plans, teaching hospitals, medical residencies, and physician advocates on Wednesday launched the American Indian Medical Education Strategies (AIMES) Alliance.

Senator Krysten Sinema toured Chiricahua Community Health Centers in Sierra Vista. Staff explained the goals and the difficulties involved rural health care. CEO Jonathan Melk told Sinema how the Chiricahua Community Health Center's role as a Federally Qualified Health Center for the area makes its work essential, and stressed that health care access for rural areas is needed.

Dr. Derksen, Director of the Arizona Center for Rural Health, quoted in Arizona Republic article about Arizona expanding parameters for children to get Medicaid coverage.

A recent study, supported by faculty and staff from the Arizona Center for Rural Health, the Arizona Prevention Research Center, and Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, has been publish in the January/February issue of Journal of Opioid Management. The study examines "rural hospitals' status in implementing opioid stewardship program (OSP) elements and assesses differences in implementation in emergency department (ED) and acute inpatient departments."

In an opinion piece published on AZCentral.com on Wednesday, Brittney Kauffman, CEO of the Health System Alliance of Arizona, makes the case for expanding residency programs in Arizona.

The author lays out the need to for support by illustrating acute shortages and low rankings in number of primary care physicians per capita, and specifically citing Arizona Center for Rural Health Policy Briefs on Graduate Medical Education in Arizona.