Since last spring, the noisy and sometime rancorous health-care-reform debate has kept all eyes and ears on Washington. It now appears the probability is high that a health-care-reform bill will be signed by President Obama. Given what our state is contemplating with respect to the next round of budget cuts, I think some sharp focus on health care in Arizona is needed – now.Gov. Jan Brewer has rightfully placed all options on the table in her difficult and, at times, bruising work with other state leaders to address what is approaching a $2 billion shortfall in our state budget.This includes a request by the governor to all state agencies asking for plans that will cut each agency’s budget by 15 percent. A significant part of these reductions will come from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) and other state health programs. AHCCCS is Arizona’s Medicaid program.At first blush, a 15 percent AHCCCS reduction may seem like a necessary although painful action that we must take. However, the math behind a 15 percent cut at AHCCCS isn’t so straightforward. It is critical that our state’s leaders and the general public appreciate the fact that every dollar spent in AHCCCS is matched by $3 from the federal government. The real formula that would quickly emerge from a 15 percent reduction by AHCCCS is cut one dollar and lose three more.The elimination of Arizona’s KidsCare program also is being contemplated. If this insurance is eliminated for 47,000 children in Arizona, we will not save a dime for the people of this state. Once uninsured, many of these children will need health care, but they will become at-risk for delayed care due to the cost of that care.Routine health care matters. Illness or injury left untreated can quickly evolve into serious or even catastrophic health-care issues. As a result, many of these children eventually will get their care in the most expensive health-care settings – ERs and hospital rooms. A great deal of the costs for this care will then be shifted to Arizona’s insured consumers.If we assume that national health-care reform will significantly cover more people, we also should assume it will take many years for this coverage to be implemented. In my view, retaining KidsCare until another plan becomes available makes good sense for Arizona.Another cut being proposed is a 30 percent reduction in the state’s contribution to Graduate Medical Education. This cut ultimately could reduce the number of physicians in the state.Hard decisions must be made to address the state’s climbing budget shortfall, and all of us must be part of the solution. Our governor and Legislature deserve that support. However, decisions that look good on paper or even on a budget spreadsheet in the short term, can prove highly damaging to the state’s fiscal health and people’s physical health in the long term.

Since last spring, the noisy and sometime rancorous health-care-reform debate has kept all eyes and ears on Washington. It now appears the probability is high that a health-care-reform bill will be signed by President Obama. Given what our state is contemplating with respect to the next round of budget cuts, I think some sharp focus on health care in Arizona is needed – now.Gov. Jan Brewer has rightfully placed all options on the table in her difficult and, at times, bruising work with other state leaders to address what is approaching a $2 billion shortfall in our state budget.This includes a request by the governor to all state agencies asking for plans that will cut each agency’s budget by 15 percent. A significant part of these reductions will come from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) and other state health programs. AHCCCS is Arizona’s Medicaid program.At first blush, a 15 percent AHCCCS reduction may seem like a necessary although painful action that we must take. However, the math behind a 15 percent cut at AHCCCS isn’t so straightforward. It is critical that our state’s leaders and the general public appreciate the fact that every dollar spent in AHCCCS is matched by $3 from the federal government. The real formula that would quickly emerge from a 15 percent reduction by AHCCCS is cut one dollar and lose three more.The elimination of Arizona’s KidsCare program also is being contemplated. If this insurance is eliminated for 47,000 children in Arizona, we will not save a dime for the people of this state. Once uninsured, many of these children will need health care, but they will become at-risk for delayed care due to the cost of that care.Routine health care matters. Illness or injury left untreated can quickly evolve into serious or even catastrophic health-care issues. As a result, many of these children eventually will get their care in the most expensive health-care settings – ERs and hospital rooms. A great deal of the costs for this care will then be shifted to Arizona’s insured consumers.If we assume that national health-care reform will significantly cover more people, we also should assume it will take many years for this coverage to be implemented. In my view, retaining KidsCare until another plan becomes available makes good sense for Arizona.Another cut being proposed is a 30 percent reduction in the state’s contribution to Graduate Medical Education. This cut ultimately could reduce the number of physicians in the state.Hard decisions must be made to address the state’s climbing budget shortfall, and all of us must be part of the solution. Our governor and Legislature deserve that support. However, decisions that look good on paper or even on a budget spreadsheet in the short term, can prove highly damaging to the state’s fiscal health and people’s physical health in the long term.

Since last spring, the noisy and sometime rancorous health-care-reform debate has kept all eyes and ears on Washington. It now appears the probability is high that a health-care-reform bill will be signed by President Obama. Given what our state is contemplating with respect to the next round of budget cuts, I think some sharp focus on health care in Arizona is needed – now.Gov. Jan Brewer has rightfully placed all options on the table in her difficult and, at times, bruising work with other state leaders to address what is approaching a $2 billion shortfall in our state budget.This includes a request by the governor to all state agencies asking for plans that will cut each agency’s budget by 15 percent. A significant part of these reductions will come from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) and other state health programs. AHCCCS is Arizona’s Medicaid program.At first blush, a 15 percent AHCCCS reduction may seem like a necessary although painful action that we must take. However, the math behind a 15 percent cut at AHCCCS isn’t so straightforward. It is critical that our state’s leaders and the general public appreciate the fact that every dollar spent in AHCCCS is matched by $3 from the federal government. The real formula that would quickly emerge from a 15 percent reduction by AHCCCS is cut one dollar and lose three more.The elimination of Arizona’s KidsCare program also is being contemplated. If this insurance is eliminated for 47,000 children in Arizona, we will not save a dime for the people of this state. Once uninsured, many of these children will need health care, but they will become at-risk for delayed care due to the cost of that care.Routine health care matters. Illness or injury left untreated can quickly evolve into serious or even catastrophic health-care issues. As a result, many of these children eventually will get their care in the most expensive health-care settings – ERs and hospital rooms. A great deal of the costs for this care will then be shifted to Arizona’s insured consumers.If we assume that national health-care reform will significantly cover more people, we also should assume it will take many years for this coverage to be implemented. In my view, retaining KidsCare until another plan becomes available makes good sense for Arizona.Another cut being proposed is a 30 percent reduction in the state’s contribution to Graduate Medical Education. This cut ultimately could reduce the number of physicians in the state.Hard decisions must be made to address the state’s climbing budget shortfall, and all of us must be part of the solution. Our governor and Legislature deserve that support. However, decisions that look good on paper or even on a budget spreadsheet in the short term, can prove highly damaging to the state’s fiscal health and people’s physical health in the long term.

If you talk to most Arizona residents about cheap health insurance companies they’ll look at you as if you’re crazy. The very idea of cheap health insurance seems ludicrous to most people, especially when more than 50% of all Arizona residents who have health insurance report that they can barely afford to pay the premiums as it is. Fortunately there are several things which most people fail to take into consideration that could reduce the cost of their health insurance significantly.A very simple thing that most people overlook is to pay their health insurance premium automatically every month from their checking or savings account. If your insurance company doesn’t have to mail you an expensive bill every month they pass the savings along to you.If you don’t see your doctor often during a normal year, then why not increase your co-payment from the standard 25% to 50%? It will save you around 20% a month on the cost of your premium and should save you money in the long run.What about your deductible? Can you afford to increase it? Obviously this is a question that you’ll have to consider carefully, but the higher your yearly deductible the lower your monthly premium payment is going to be.If you’re serious about reducing the cost of your health insurance then you are going to have to be serious about not smoking or using chew or any other tobacco product. You simply will NOT get the cheapest price for health insurance if you smoke or use chew. Period.If the cost of health insurance is still too high you might consider opening a Health Savings Account, especially if you are generally healthy. A Health Savings Account, also known as an HSA is a special savings account that you fund with cheap tax-free dollars. The catch is that you can only use the money in your HSA to pay for your medical needs during the year. Because the money in your HSA is tax-free it is equivalent to saving approximately 25% on your health needs.Another advantage to an HSA is that if you do not use all of the money in your account in a given year then the balance rolls over into the next year, which would allow you, over time, to build up a nice tax-free nest egg.As part of your HSA account you will be required to buy a very low-cost high-deductible health insurance policy. These cheap health insurance policies have a deductible so high that in a normal year they will not pay even a penny toward any of your health care needs – that’s what your tax-free savings account is for.What these cheap insurance policies do is they act as a safety net to shield your life savings and even your home itself from an unexpected catastrophic accident or illness which results in enormous medical bills which otherwise could have wiped out everything you own.There is one last thing you can do that will save you a bundle on your health insurance, and that’s to buy your policy online. In today’s world you would have to be crazy not to buy your medical insurance online since online insurance sellers offer their products at such deep discounts.One of the tricks to finding the most affordable policy online is to make sure that you check out the prices on several different health insurance price comparison websites rather than relying on the results that you find from just one site.But once you’ve made all of your comparisons then the fun really begins as you simply choose the cheapest health insurance company in Arizona and know that you are saving a ton of money every year while still getting the health insurance that you and your family need.