News

Member news headlines from the Nov. 19, 2015 Weekly Report.... Read More >>

WSHA Industry Partner ZeOmega will host a webinar at noon Dec. 16 on the five pillars of population health: a comprehensive and inclusive approach to successful population health management.... Read More >>

In many ways, WSHA is an advance team for our members. Through our policy and patient safety work, as well as our meetings and communications, we strive to help members prepare for changes in the industry. Our work helps them stay focused on providing health care services to their communities. We must also prepare ourselves. WSHA is an incredible organization with many new opportunities before us, and like our members, we are constantly evolving to meet the needs of the future.... Read More >>

After several years of frustration and advocacy, hospitals should soon see meaningful reform to the Recover Audit Contractor (RAC) program. Effective January 1, the amount of audit requests RACs will be able to request for a hospital will be reduced by three-fourths, from 2.0 percent down to 0.5 percent of the hospital’s paid Medicare claims from the previous year.... Read More >>

The Health Care Authority recently sent Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals notices of new Medicaid inpatient and outpatient payment rates, effective November 1. These changes are due to state calculations to ensure budget neutrality. ... Read More >>

The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) is beginning the process of updating the Medicaid payment methodology for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics. HCA is in the final stages of contracting with a technical assistance consultant to work with stakeholders to develop a successor to the current alternative payment methodology (APM).... Read More >>

On November 16, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized its rule concerning payment of hip and knee replacements for hospitals in selected regions. The new program goes into effect April 1, 2016 and will affect hospitals in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue and Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metropolitan service areas that provide hip and knee replacement surgery.... Read More >>

Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention (SHARP) is offering an opportunity to a select group of hospitals to implement a workplace violence prevention program and evaluate its effectiveness. The cost of reacting after a serious incident has occurred is 100 times more costly than taking preventive actions.... Read More >>

Tacoma’s St. Joseph Medical Center has a partner in nearby McCarver Elementary School, and once a month, six selected students get to take the short walk with to the hospital with their co-principals for a field trip that gets their imaginations churning. One student from each grade, recognized for good behavior and citizenship, enjoy a healthy lunch of salads and sandwiches in the St. Joseph cafeteria before touring a chosen department in the hospital.... Read More >>

This bulletin provides information on two financial assistance documents that WSHA will recommend every hospital adopt. WSHA intends to recommend that all hospitals adopt the standard financial assistance application and communication plan once these documents are finalized and approved by the WSHA Board. These documents focus on the patient-facing portions of the financial assistance process and do not dictate the levels of financial assistance offered at individual hospitals.... Read More >>