During the 2016 state legislative session, a key issue of debate was the future of Washington’s state-run psychiatric hospitals. The result was SB 6656, and WSHA was pleased with the direction it established for moving forward. However, last week, Governor Inslee vetoed significant and important portions of the bill.... Read More >>

Patients struggle to maintain insurance and pay for care, and hospitals can end up with bad debt and unanticipated charity care. Project Access Northwest’s Premium Assistance Program — which WSHA helped launch — can help these individuals pay their premiums and keep important health care coverage for the entire year.... Read More >>

Of late, the Health Care Authority (HCA) has been working with consultants and addressing public questions about the roles of the Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs), with requests to define their responsibilities and level of readiness if the state succeeds in getting a global waiver from the federal government.... Read More >>

Brenda Parnell, former CEO of Ferry County Hospital in Republic, has joined WSHA for the next several months as a temporary employee. She is assisting us as a policy and rural director for the summer while two members of our team are on leave.... Read More >>

The Department of Health will be mailing out the annual statewide surveys on hospital acute care bed counts. The surveys have been mailed via U.S. mail to hospital administrators. Hospitals should receive them the first week of May, and responses are due by June 1.... Read More >>

This legislative session, one of WSHA’s top priorities was continuing to advance policy support for telemedicine, and we were very pleased with the passage of Senate Bill 6519. As part of this new legislation, a statewide Telemedicine Collaborative is being convened. The application to serve on the Collaborative is now available and is due by May 15.... Read More >>

WSHA worked with members to create both a standard financial assistance application form and a standard plan for communicating and giving notice of the fact that financial help is out there. The WSHA Board of Trustees unanimously voted to urge every hospital in Washington State to adopt these documents. It’s the right thing to do for patients, our communities and our hospitals.... Read More >>

This bulletin’s purpose is to share the WSHA-developed standard financial assistance/charity care application and standard communication plan for communicating about financial assistance/charity care and recommend that all hospitals adopt both documents. ... Read More >>

WSHA will host a members-only webinar on the WSHA-developed standard financial assistance application form and standard financial assistance communication plan for Washington State hospitals. The WSHA Board recommends that every hospital in Washington State adopt these documents.... Read More >>

Just days after CMS received letters signed by 60 U.S. Senators and 225 members of the House of Representatives requesting a delay of the overall star rating, the agency announced it would postpone the launch until July. The letter, signed by Washington State’s Sen. Maria Cantwell and Reps. Suzanne DelBene, Denny Heck, David Reichert, Derek Kilmer and Dan Newhouse, states what WSHA has also expressed: the star rating may simplify complex measures to the point of inaccuracy.... Read More >>