A new survey of Arizona voters finds broad, tri-partisan support for several potential reforms to AHCCCS, Arizona's Medicaid program, including transparent pharmacy pricing, local health system prioritization, and mandatory fines for ghost networks.
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The poll was commissioned by the Independent Center Voice.
Three-quarters of Arizona voters say they want 100% transparent and auditable pass-through pharmacy pricing. AHCCCS managed plans already mostly use this model. When a plan uses a pharmacy benefits manager, they are paid an administrative fee billed separately. The exact fee varies by plan, but it cannot exceed an average of $2 per prescription.
Brett Lloyd, the pollster for the Independent Center Voice, said a major theme throughout the survey was that Arizonans want their healthcare to be local.
"The number one thing they're saying is, I'm having difficulty with the healthcare system. I feel that it's too national. It's too corporate. It's not local enough. How can I make my healthcare more community accessible?" Lloyd said.
71% of voters across all parties want AHCCCS to prioritize local health systems over out-of-state bidders. A similar share says plan management should fall to local systems like Banner, not corporate insurers like United Healthcare or Blue Cross.
AHCCCS does consider provider networks in its bidding process, but it does not guarantee continuity of care when contracts change.
More than half of voters want to see mandatory fines for ghost networks — when a patient searches their plan's in-network database and finds bad phone numbers or doctors who are no longer in-network.
"If people go to them, they might not be able to get service, or their insurance might be denied...these ghost networks that aren't being really penalized," Lloyd said.
Voters also favor strict monthly reporting on care denials, something only partially in place today. Prior authorization denials are currently reported annually. Last year, 3.5% of non-urgent requests were denied.
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