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Washington State is one of only a few states with a law governing charity care. The law was enacted in 1990 with the support of Washington's hospitals. Other states with charity care laws have usually developed mechanisms to fund the care provided. In Washington, however, there is no charity care pool to reimburse hospitals for their costs.
In 2006, hospitals provided $217 million in charity care. This number reflects actual hospital costs, not hospital charges. Below is a chart depicting the growth in the cost of hospital charity care over the last ten years.
- Read a full report about Washington State hospitals' financial assistance (PDF)