Rep. David Cook
Jakob Thorington
Arizona Capitol Times
Editor’s note: This story was part of the Session Wrap coverage, which reviewed and analyzed the 2023 legislative session.
House and Senate Freedom Caucus members started the legislative session with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs as their prime nemesis, but soon found a new foe in a rural Republican.
On several occasions this session, House Freedom Caucus members aired their grievances with Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, on social media. Cook said Wednesday that he had differences with Senate Government Committee Chairman and Freedom Caucus Founding Chairman Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, on some of his bills related to rural health care.
One of Cook’s bills would have established procedure for a health care insurer’s denial of a services claim and allow a health care provider to timely request a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings if the provider’s claim denial grievance is unresolved. That bill was held by Hoffman and never received a hearing in the Senate even though Cook said he had the votes to get it to the governor’s desk.
The bill was introduced by Cook because he was trying to increase the number of insurance denial hearings held per month by the Office of Administrative Hearings, which Cook said needs to be around 70. Right now, the office hears about two per month, he said.
“It was a racket and that’s got to do with the Senate, and I believe, Hoffman,” Cook said. “We are putting people’s lives at risk and having people’s lives shortened in rural Arizona because of the Senate.”
