We are very thankful for everyone who comes to Olympia to testify! Your testimony is essential for helping legislators and the public to understand the real impact of proposed legislation. Last week, we were pleased to have testimony from Dr. Michael Schiesser from EvergreenHealth.... Read More >>
WSHA is testifying on the following bills this week.... Read More >>
Friday Feb. 5 is the last day to pass bills from legislative committees to the floor in the house of origin (except for House fiscal committees and the Senate Ways & Means and transportation committees). We are focused this week on making sure the bills we support make it out of committee.... Read More >>
House Bill 2362 governs how the public can request footage taken by a body camera from a law enforcement officer via the Public Records Act (PRA). The bill also directs law enforcement agencies to develop polices on the use of body cameras and creates a task force to study and make recommendations on all aspects of the use of body-worn cameras for surveillance, gathering evidence, and transparency and accountability in interactions between law enforcement officials and members of the public.... Read More >>
Senate Bill 6558 is a top priority for WSHA this session, and it would provide direction to the state Pharmacy Commission and Department of Health on how to implement current law (SB 5460) about pharmacy services and licensing. Although SB 5460 was enacted last year, it has not yet been implemented. This would allow hospitals an efficient way to license their clinics and transfer essential medications to them.... Read More >>
The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) and OneHealthPort will provide an overview of Washington Link4Health, an HCA initiative to advance the statewide electronic exchange of clinical records. HCA is working with OneHealthPort, the designated statewide health information exchange, to introduce Washington Link4Health’s first statewide service. The one‑hour webcast will be held Tuesday, February 23, 2016, noon to 1 p.m. ... Read More >>
On January 20, House Bill 2447 Emergency Balance Billing was heard by the House Health Care & Wellness Committee. The bill, requested by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, is intended to protect patients from unexpected charges in cases where they receive emergency care at a hospital that is contracted with their health insurer, but not all physicians providing professional services are contracted with that plan.... Read More >>
As reported in a recent WSHA bulletin, the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) has agreed to increase inpatient rates for the next quarter by about 18 percent. This restores errors it made to the budget neutrality adjustment factor (BNAF) rates during the last two quarters for Prospective Payment System hospitals and Certified Public Expenditure hospitals.... Read More >>
WSHA testified this week in support of House Bill 2730 in Olympia, which expands access to the Prescription Monitoring Program, making it easier for providers to prevent opioid abuse. The Washington State Legislature has also heard several hearings on how to improve Western State Hospital. Western State Hospital plays a critical role in the state’s mental health system, and WSHA firmly believes we need Western State Hospital to function well and play its part in the system.... Read More >>
Working with WSHA, the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) has agreed to increase inpatient Medicaid rates for the next quarter by about 18 percent in order to restore cutting rates during the last two quarters. Hospitals should have started receiving notices of the change Jan. 14 or 15 informing them of change, which takes effect Feb. 1.... Read More >>
