Gary McLaughlin, Chief Financial Officer at Overlake Medical Center, will retire at the end of June. Gary served as the CFO at Overlake since 2003.... Read More >>

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell this week said he hopes the Senate can vote late next week on its version of a bill to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act. McConnell is expected to release a “working draft” on Thursday. The Congressional Budget Office is hoping to report by early next week on how the bill would affect insurance coverage levels and the federal budget.... Read More >>

By November 16, the Health Care Authority (HCA) is requiring all Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs) to submit a project plan that will guide their Medicaid demonstration work. The HCA recently released the draft Project Plan Template, supplemental workbook and recently updated draft Project Toolkit. These materials now contain important timelines and implementation guidance for the ACHs and providers. One major change for all projects is that 2018 is a planning year with implementation expected by late 2019. WSHA will submit comments on the materials by the June 30 deadline.... Read More >>

Gov. Jay Inslee on June 20 announced that Lou McDermott will serve as interim director of the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA). He replaces Dorothy Frost Teeter, who announced her departure from the agency in May after leading it for four years.... Read More >>

The Cancer Research Endowment (CARE) Fund, a new public-private partnership that supports cancer research in Washington, has selected Empire Health Foundation (EHF) in Spokane to serve as its Program Administrator. EHF will be responsible for administering grants to fund cancer research that utilizes the best science with the greatest potential to improve health outcomes for Washingtonians.... Read More >>

Grays Harbor and Klickitat counties will have no individual health care insurance options in 2018, according to information filed with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) last week. Based on the filings, residents will have no options on the Washington Health Benefit Exchange or individual market. Commissioner Kreidler and his staff are engaged in negotiations to see if a willing insurer can be found.... Read More >>

Healthier Washington recently released the final report of the Rural Health Innovation Accelerator Committee (RHIAC), entitled “A New Vision For Rural Health in Washington.”  Jacqueline Barton True participated in the RHIAC, along with WSHA members Eric Moll, CEO of Mason General Hospital, and Linda Gipson, Chief, Quality and Transformation Officer at WhidbeyHealth. ... Read More >>

The Health Care Authority (HCA) announced that statewide $138 million of funding will be available for Accountable Communities of Health (ACH) Medicaid transformation projects, pending approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The funding is for the first year of the demonstration. The majority of the funding will go to providers participating in the projects. If your hospital or health system is interested in participating in the demonstration projects, WSHA strongly encourages your staff to be involved in those ACH discussions.... Read More >>

WSHA recently released a bulletin explaining details of the decision to pursue “mid-adopter” status for financial integration of Medicaid benefits for behavioral health. WSHA supports financial integration of Medicaid benefits so that patients may have a single managed care organization responsible for benefits and cost of their care. The bulletin includes frequently asked questions about the topic as well as resources.... Read More >>

The purpose of this bulletin is to help you understand the implications of regions and counties pursuing mid adopter financial integration of Medicaid benefits for behavioral health.... Read More >>