News

Today is scheduled to be the last day of this year’s short state legislative session. We are happy to report that many of the significant bills WSHA supports made it through both the House and Senate. We are continuing to work on the state budget, particularly focusing on mental health. The legislature could indeed adjourn today, but it looks likely that there will need to be some overtime to finish the budgets.... Read More >>

WSHA leadership recently had the opportunity to participate in a reception and reading with Dr. Damon Tweedy, author of “Black Man in a White Coat.” Dr. Tweedy is a Duke-trained psychiatrist dedicated to health equity, and his book was also the topic of a recent column by Jerry Large in The Seattle Times. He addressed the intersection of race and medicine as a medical student, physician and patient. ... Read More >>

The Health Care Authority (HCA) is planning significant changes to Apple Health enrollment. Under a new policy effective April 1, 2016, enrollees will be retroactively assigned to a managed care plan as of the beginning of the month the patient is enrolled, rather than at the beginning of the month following enrollment. HCA will be hosting a webinar on March 17, from 2:00- 3:00 p.m. to provide information regarding the changes and answer questions.... Read More >>

Friday was the cutoff for most bills to be considered in the opposite house, and we are now heading into the final stretch of this year’s short legislative session. We are happy to report that many of the significant bills WSHA supports made it through both the House and Senate, and are now headed to the governor for his action. Several other bills WSHA supports are awaiting concurrence between the House and Senate.... Read More >>

A new report from the AHA’s Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence initiative describes strategies, action steps and examples for hospitals, health systems and community stakeholders working to develop a well-coordinated, accessible, affordable and accountable system for delivering behavioral health care.... Read More >>

The Medicare Provider Reimbursement Manual requires hospitals to adjust their Medicare cost reports to eliminate the portion of association dues related to lobbying expenses. For calendar year 2015, the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) has determined 21 percent of its membership dues were expended in activities that meet the Medicare definition of lobbying. For the Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts (AWPHD), 18 percent of its membership dues were used for lobbying. ... Read More >>

In a joint letter WSHA and the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems strongly opposed site neutral payment policies on provider-based hospital outpatient departments. Submitted to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, the letter was in response to a request for provider feedback on these policies.... Read More >>

The state House and Senate released their respective proposals for the 2016 supplemental budget last week. The House proposed spending significant money on teacher salary increases and homelessness prevention.... Read More >>

he Health Care Authority is planning significant changes to Apple Health enrollment. Under a new policy effective April 1, 2016, enrollees will be retroactively assigned to a managed care plan as of the beginning of the month the patient is enrolled, rather than at the beginning of the month following enrollment.... Read More >>

The State Senate released its proposal for the 2016 supplemental budget yesterday. The Senate takes a significantly different approach than the House to its budget proposal, making more cuts than the House did and leaving a much larger balance in the budget stabilization account. In addition, the Senate spends less. ... Read More >>