The House HHS Committee gave House Bill 2049 a due-pass recommendation after testimony from rural cancer clinicians who said allowing particle accelerator use under supervision at critical access hospitals will expand local cancer treatment and reduce patient travel. The bill applies to counties under 400,000 and includes safety protocols.

A Health and Human Services committee recommendation would let pharmacists provide certain tests and treatments under statewide protocols to increase access—particularly in rural areas—while members voiced concerns about diagnostic scope for youth and training limits.

The House Health and Human Services Committee voted 7–0 to give HB 2049 a due-pass recommendation, which would let critical-access and small-county hospitals use particle-accelerator radiation therapy under limited, documented general supervision while keeping safety checks such as periodic physician observation and on-site availability for consultation.

House debate on HB24-44 centered on whether allowing expanded testing and treatment in pharmacies will improve access or fragment care. Sponsors said the volunteer program increases affordable access; opponents warned of risks to patient safety, privacy, and rural clinics.

SB 13-16 would create a separate fund for roughly $167 million in federal rural health transformation grants, add public hearings and require JLBC oversight; the Senate passed the bill 17–13 after debate about transparency versus bureaucratic delay.

The Arizona Senate Health and Human Services Committee gave Senate Bill 11‑18 a due‑pass recommendation after adopting an amendment that specifies a $3 million FY2027 appropriation to the Department of Health Services to fund installation grants for enhanced radiation protection systems in cardiac catheterization rooms at rural hospitals.

Legislative budget staff and policy groups told the committee H.R.1 will reshape Medicaid with community engagement rules, more frequent redeterminations and changes to provider taxes. The committee advanced interstate licensure compacts (PA compact passed 11–1) and a state bill to create oversight for the federal Rural Health Transformation Fund (HB2233 as amended, due‑pass 7–5).