Support This Effort to Keep People Enrolled in AHCCCS
Arizona ranks fourth in the nation regarding the percentage of the population lacking health insurance (Kaiser 2009).
On July 8, planned reforms to Medicaid (AHCCCS) placed greater responsibility on patients to maintain their health coverage. ("Draining Arizona Health Care," July 14.) In the past, individuals who qualified for AHCCCS would not find it difficult to regain their benefits if they forgot to renew. The current measures effectively "drop" patients who fail to meet the renewal deadlines.
Making it more difficult for patients to maintain their health benefits is fiscally unsound over the long-term, as uninsured individuals will put off seeking preventive care now.
The American College of Physicians Arizona Chapter, which represents internal-medicine physician specialists throughout the state, is supporting the grassroots effort "Don't Get Dropped AZ!" and its campaign to educate AHCCCS members.
To learn more, go to dontgetdroppedaz.org.
Dr. Ana Maria López
No-Growthers Are Hurting Tucson
I couldn't believe what I was reading in the Tucson Weekly, which on June 23 published three articles identifying problems that prohibit growth in our community. The pieces included Tom Danehy's opinion of Tucson's dysfunctional city government; Dave Devine and Molly McKasson wrote about the homeless who can't find jobs; and Ted Williams discussed the anti-growth agenda of the Center for Biological Diversity.
For several years, I have been trying to remodel a five-acre dirt lot adjacent to my current business. The city's Department of Planning and Development Services has done nothing but obstruct this project, making it impossible to complete without adding tens of thousands of dollars in needless spending to comply with a land-use code which must have been written by our no-growth neighborhood groups.
Tucson is loaded with no-growthers. Our city government is an impediment to growth unless one has deep pockets and is willing to take it.
Thomas Quebedeaux