EP. 7: Talking Budget

This is the last episode of Arizona Common Ground and we will be discuss the end of the legislative session. In this episode we will speak with Arizona State Senator David Bradley who will use his bill Senate Bill 1264, Arizona Community Schools Pilot program, as a case study. The story of how he shepherded  this bill through the legislative session in 2019 is full of ups an downs, finding common ground, and the sometimes heart aching reality of the bill process. 

In this episode we will be speaking with Arizona State Senator Heather L. Carter, from Legislative District 15, who has been working in the legislature for 9 years and currently serves on the state appropriations committee.  Together we go through the timeline of the budget process and talk state budget. 

In this episode we will be speaking with professor Leila Barraza who will discuss amending, stalling, and the many ways in which a bill dies. We use the case studies to talk about the relationship between federal policy and state policy. Meanwhile Senator Carter explains how a bill can be resurrected after being killed in committee… Nothing is over until signe die.

 In this episode we will be speaking with Healthcare experts and advocates, Deb Gullet, the Executive Director at Arizona Association of Health Plans and Joe K. Gerald, Program Director of Public Health Policy & Management at the University of Arizona. Deb walks us through case studies at the legislative Capitol during her time as a legislator during the Medicaid expansion talks in Arizona and gives us some tips on the RTS system and how to view it as a database. Meanwhile Dr. Gerald will discuss America’s core values and how they play a role in shaping our own perspectives on healthcare and how they shape America’s healthcare system.  While listening to this episode think about which core values drive your thoughts on healthcare. 

Featuring Maia Ingram, Co-Director of Arizona Prevention Research Center and Will Humble, Director of Arizona Public Health Association.

In this episode we get an inside scoop of the testimonial phase, from behind the scenes. We speak with, Greg, the Vice President of Government Relations for the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) and Pele from Peacock Legal. We discuss vote count and the significance of the numbers 16, 31, and 1. We learn what a slash and burn lobbyist is and what the benefits of having an educational presentation before committee meetings. So how does one request and set up a presentation for the legislature? And how do we efficiently reach the audience?    Listen in to find out.

When you first walk into a legislative room it can be intimidating to see so many unfamiliar faces. To familiarize ourselves with the process and who is involved, we will be speaking with two legislative staff members. Cherie, who works as a Bipartisan Policy Analyst, and Democratic Policy Advisor, Roxanna. Together they will walk us through who is who in the legislative room. We will explore the documents created for the legislators to best prepare them for voting in committee. and much more.

In this episode we introduce Telemedicine as a case study (S.B. 1089) .  Both speakers have experience in telehealth and telemedicine. Dr. Laura Coco explains how evidence-based research and identified need can be translated into action. Dr. Heather Carter walks us through the eight years of stakeholder engagement and shares the efforts that contributed to the bill being passed during the 2019 legislative session. Since the legislative session begins in January, what happens in the interim? This episode discusses the importance of what needs to take place before the legislative session begins and how to best prepare!

Listen in as podcast host, Krista R. Cardenas, gets interviewed about Arizona Common Ground. This short clip will explain the reason for the creation of the podcast, what to expect while listening in, and preps the audience for an inside story on how public health policies and laws get developed. -Krista

Policy is one of the most powerful tools public health professionals have to effect positive health changes at a community level. “In my experience, I’ve seen a disconnect between public health practice and policy,” said Cardenas. “I think there’s a crucial need to empower students and professionals to engage in health policy. I developed Arizona Common Ground to help address this need by walking listeners through the structure of a bill process so they can see how they can have their voice heard by a legislature.” Krista R. Cardenas, MPH, is the creator and host of the new podcast Arizona Common Ground (AZCG), an eight episode educational podcast series that will take listeners through the legislative process of how a bill is passed in Arizona.  On April 18, 2019, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed SB 1089, a Telemedicine bill that requires private insurers to cover the same services provided through telemedicine as they do through in-person care. As an intern, Cardenas shadowed Senator Heather Carter at the Arizona Capitol, to better understand how the legislative system, laws, and processes are carried out. She tracked the Telemedicine bill from stakeholder meetings, language drafting, through the legislature process until it was signed into law. Cardenas took everything she learned and created the podcast to help public health students, health professionals and other citizens interested in health to implement their work at the policy level. The podcasts include personal narratives and case studies from politicians, lobbyists, policy analysts, and public health professors so you can know how to have voice with these legislative issues.