High Country Politics - March 8, 2023 - Government and Elections News from Colorado, Arizona and the West

Arizona AG Kris Mayes refocuses Election Integrity Unit on protecting election officials and voting rights | CO Gov. Jared Polis and Democrats introduce bills to lower healthcare costs | Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples commission sets field hearings for AZ, CA, MT, NM | Department of Defense provides process for service members to obtain abortions when stationed in states where abortion is banned | Ani DiFranco does a western swing with shows in CO, MT, and ID.

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Welcome to High Country - politics in the American West. My name is Sean Diller; regular listeners might know me from Heartland Pod’s Talking Politics, every Monday.

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ARIZONA MIRROR: ARIZONA AG INVESTIGATES FAKE ELECTORS

Kris Mayes is investigating Trump’s ‘fake electors,’ focusing on threats to election workers

BY: JEROD MACDONALD-EVOY - MARCH 3, 2023 7:12 AM

While her predecessor used a dedicated election crimes division to investigate hundreds of bogus election fraud claims, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes says she will redirect the unit’s focus to prosecute election-related threats and protect voting rights. 

“We are almost at a crisis situation in our state, in the sense that we now have a third of our counties experiencing the resignation of high-level election officialS due to death threats and harassment. That is unacceptable,” 

Former AG Mark Brnovich, the Republican who Mayes replaced this year, persuaded the state legislature to create the Election Integrity Unit so his office could have a dedicated team to investigate election fraud claims. But Brnovich buried what was arguably its most important work, a 10,000-hour investigation debunking hundreds of fraud claims related to the 2020 election. AG Mayes released the results of that investigation earlier this month. 

And the Election Integrity Unit is also investigating a much larger effort to undermine the will of the voters — The Trump / Eastman / Perry plot to send fraudulent slates of electors for former President Donald Trump to Congress on Jan. 6 - using the state’s seal. While she was secretary of state, Gov. Katie Hobbs requested Brnovich investigate the criminal use of the state seal on false documents, but Brnovich did nothing.

 There were actually multiple “fake elector” schemes in Arizona. One was tied to the Arizona Republican Party and allegedly done at the request of the Trump campaign. It involved officials including former AZ GOP chairwoman Kelli Ward, state Sen. Jake Hoffman, state Sen. Anthony Kern and Turning Points USA CEO Tyler Bowyer. That fake electors scheme is also the subject of a federal investigation. 

Another group, the Sovereign Citizens of the Great State of Arizona, also created an alternate slate of electors for Trump, independent of the former President’s desperate and nihilistic attempts to steal the 2020 election for himself.

Since the 2020 election, threats to election officials nationwide have been increasing. Arizona has been at the forefront of those threats, with the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice getting involved in multiple cases. 

Most recently, veteran Cochise County Election Director Lisa Marra resigned. In her departure letter, she described a workplace that was hostile due to a monthslong saga in which Marra stood up to election conspiracists’ insane demands and threats.

Last year, the director of elections in Yavapai County resigned due to more than 18 months of threats she received. GOP-dominated Yavapai County has been a hotbed of hostile activity, with the white supremacist Oath Keepers intimidating voters before federal law enforcement got involved. 

AG Mayes said the images of armed men watching drop boxes “disturbed” her and set her on a path to begin speaking to police and sheriff’s departments across the state. 

Making sure voters feel safe and secure when using a drop box will be a major priority, Mayes said, and if that means making sure that agents with the Attorney General’s Office are present alongside law enforcement, then that might be the case. Currently, Mayes has 60 agents working directly with her in the office. 

Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies had to be dispatched in riot gear to deal with angry and armed crowds of butt-hurt snowflake losers (my term) during the 2020 election, when they descended upon the Maricopa County tabulation center. Deputies have had to dedicate security to election officials who faced threats as well.

During the midterms, Maricopa County spent approximately $675,000 on security for the elections, a number the Sheriff expects to be “substantially” higher for the next election as he and his deputies are already preparing for the next wave of threats to election officials, as well as illegal activities around drop boxes. 

But for AG Mayes, the Arizona Election Integrity Unit can be a force that actually protects voting rights in the state. 

“We really want to repurpose the Election Integrity Unit to be an arm of the Attorney General’s Office that is focused on protecting democracy in Arizona, protecting election officials against the rise of death threats and intimidation against them, and to protect the voting rights of every legally registered Arizonan.

COLORADO NEWSLINE: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and a group of Democratic lawmakers have introduced a slate of new bills that are meant to reduce health care costs in the state.

BY: SARA WILSON - MARCH 3, 2023 2:04 PM

The bills would reduce premiums for Colorado Option health insurance plans, lower prescription drug costs and work to increase transparency around the huge profits being made by hospitals.

“Saving people money on healthcare has been a top priority for me since Day One, and it’s a big challenge,” said Gov. Polis. “We want to pound away on it every year, to find every cost driver and address it, to make sure Coloradans stop having to overpay for prescription drugs, insurance, and the health care that they need.”

House Bill 23-1224 would work to improve the Colorado Option, the state-regulated plan offered by private insurers that passed just last year. The bill would make it easier for consumers to compare prices on standardized plans, and empower the state’s insurance commissioner to hold carriers accountable for the cost reduction requirements in Colorado Option standardized plans.

Another bill, House Bill 23-1225, addresses the state’s prescription drug affordability board. It would allow the board to review any number of expensive prescription drugs instead of only a dozen as outlined in the legislation that created the board.

The board, which has not yet reviewed the costs of any drugs so far, has the authority to set an upper payment limit if it determines a drug is unaffordable for Coloradans.

House Bill 23-1227, would give more oversight power to the state’s Division of Insurance over pharmacy benefit managers. 

“In some cases, PBMs are coming between consumers, health insurance plans, pharmacies and manufacturers while making very, very large profits. PBMs can be a part of the plan to save Coloradans money on prescription drugs, but they have to follow the rules,” Jodeh, one of the bill sponsors, said.

Lawmakers highlighted other pieces of health care cost saving legislation:

HB23-1226 would enhance current hospital financial transparency reporting in an effort to highlight what is driving up hospital costs in the state.

COLORADO SUN: And, Almost four years after becoming the first state to cap insulin copayments, Colorado may limit what consumers pay for epinephrine autoinjectors, also known as EpiPens, which treat serious allergic reactions.

In 2007, the wholesale price of a single EpiPen was about $47. Today, two brand-name autoinjectors cost just under $636 at a Walgreens in Denver, according to GoodRx. 

A proposed state law would cap out-of-pocket copays at $60 for a two-pack of Epi Pens.

The bill is part of a nationwide push by states to address the soaring prices of lifesaving drugs. New Hampshire passed a law in 2020 requiring insurance to cover the autoinjectors, and Rhode Island lawmakers are considering a similar measure this year. 

No state has capped what consumers pay for EpiPens, though the New Jersey Senate passed a bill in June to do so; that measure is pending in the legislature’s lower house.

state Rep. Iman Jodeh, a bill sponsor, said “The need for EpiPens doesn’t discriminate based on who you are. This unfortunate trend we’re seeing of lifesaving medication being out of reach for so many people is something we need to end.”

In 2019, Colorado became the first state to enact a law that set a $100 limit on monthly copays for insulin, a hormone that regulates the blood sugar of people with diabetes.

Since then, 21 other states, plus Washington, D.C., have implemented laws limiting insulin costs. Congress imposed a $35 insulin copay cap for seniors on Medicare, and, in his recent State of the Union address, President Joe Biden called for expanding this cap to every American.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

Tagged: Colorado legislature, Colorado politics, EpiPen, Iman Jodeh, insulin, Kaiser Health News, KHN, prescription drug costs

AZMIRROR: 

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples field hearing comes to AZ in May

BY: SHONDIIN SILVERSMITH - MARCH 3, 2023 12:27 PM

As part of the U.S. departments of the Interior and Justice’s work to combat the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) crisis, the Not Invisible Act Commission will be hosting its first round of field hearing sessions this spring. 

“In partnership with the Justice Department and with extensive engagement with Tribes and other stakeholders, the Interior Department is marshaling our resources to finally address the crisis of violence against Indigenous peoples,” she added. 

FROM WORC: Missing and Murdered Indigenous People is an epidemic stemming from over 500 years of colonization that has harmed Indigenous communities across the globe.  For Indigenous women in the United States, this means being amongst the population that is murdered at 10 times the national average. 

According to the Indian Law Resource Center, more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence, and more than half have experienced sexual violence. There is no official statistic regarding how many Indigenous women go missing within the United States, and many families report the same experiences where law enforcement will dismiss a missing loved one’s case. 

In a Montana Public Radio article from 2019, people who had missing loved ones reported that law enforcement officers had told them “that their daughters were drunk or had run away.” 

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said “This work requires each of us to face our own trauma, to relive unimaginable pain, and visualize a future in which our loved ones are safe, and our communities have closure. We’re here for our children, grandchildren, and relatives we have yet to meet.”

The Not Invisible Act was signed into law in October 2020. It is the first bill in history to be introduced and passed by four U.S. congressional members who are enrolled in federally recognized tribes. Then- Representative Haaland, one of those four, spearheaded the bill during her time in Congress.

At that time she said “A lack of urgency, transparency, and coordination has hampered our country’s efforts to combat violence against American Indian and Alaska Native people” 

The commission established by the Not Invisible Act is a cross-jurisdictional advisory committee including law enforcement, tribal leaders, federal partners, service providers, family members of missing and murdered individuals, and survivors. 

In April, the commission will hold field hearings in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Anchorage, Alaska. In June, more hearings are scheduled in Minneapolis, Minnesota, northern California and Albuquerque, New Mexico.  In July, a hearing will be held in Billings, Montana. A national, virtual field hearing is also planned for later in the summer. 

These field hearings will feature panel discussions and a public comment period. For more information, go to https://www.bia.gov/service/mmu

COLORADO NEWSLINE: Land of the free.

BY: LINDSEY TOOMER - MARCH 4, 2023 11:05 AM

U.S. Rep. Jason Crow D-Colorado praised the Department of Defense’s decision to ensure service members have access to reproductive health care including abortion after he proposed a bill that would have done the same last fall. 

“After the Supreme Court’s extreme and dangerous decision to take away a woman’s fundamental right to an abortion, servicemembers struggled to access basic reproductive health care,” Crow said. 

“I applaud the Department of Defense for moving to protect our servicemembers and mitigate challenges of recruitment, readiness, and retention in the ranks. The servicemembers who fight for us should not have to fight for their own basic health care.”

One of Crow’s goals was to ensure that service members stationed in states that enacted abortion bans were allowed to travel to states, such as Colorado, where abortion is still legal.

A Department of Defense news release said “Our Service members and their families do not control where they are stationed, and due to the nature of military service, are frequently required to travel or move to meet operational requirements. The efforts taken by the Department today will not only ensure that Service members and their families retain the fundamental right to make their own health care decisions, as well as ensuring they’re afforded the time and flexibility needed to do so. 

In response, Rep. Lauren Boebert and fellow Republicans said they plan to maintain their laser focus on the REAL truth behind Hunter Biden’s laptop.

CONCERT PICK OF THE WEEK: Ani DiFranco! It’s the 25th anniversary of the excellent album, Little Plastic Castle, originally released in 1998. Ani is doing a run of shows starting March 15 hitting Boulder, Fort Collins, Breckenridge, Salt Lake City, Boise, Bozeman, Missoula and finishing in New Orleans at the FREE French Quarter Music Festival, April 13.

Welp, that’s it for me! From Denver I’m Sean Diller. Original reporting for the stories in today’s show comes from the Arizona Mirror, Colorado Newsline, Kaiser Health News, Colorado Sun, and the Western Organization of Resource Councils at worc.org. 

Thank you for listening! See you next time.

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