News

The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) recently circulated a stakeholder draft bill related to out-of-network billing, sometimes referred to as “surprise bills." The bill is meant to address the situation where a patient receives services at a hospital or other facility that is part of their health plan’s network, but receive care from providers who are not contracted with the plan.... Read More >>

he federal Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently released results of two separate audits where they claimed the Washington State Medicaid program made improper payments. In one audit, OIG claimed the state made $9.2 million in improper electronic health record incentive payments.... Read More >>

When the Washington State Health Care Authority rebased inpatient and outpatient rates in July 2014, they originally suggested a three percent cut to adjust for coding changes in the new system. WSHA and our hospitals pushed back and HCA agreed to measure changes for a two-year period, making budget neutrality adjustments as needed.... Read More >>

Health care has not been a central theme in the 2016 presidential election, but it is an area in which the two major party candidates present starkly different visions for public policy. So here is a brief comparison of where each candidate stands based on an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation.... Read More >>

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 14 issued its final rule implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act. WSHA staff is working diligently over the details.... Read More >>

Thank you to all our members who joined us last week in the wind and the rain in Seattle for our 84th Annual Member Meeting! We want to extend a heartfelt congratulations to the winners of the Joe Hopkins Memorial Award, the Achieving Best Care Award and the Community Health Leadership Award. Each exemplified outstanding work to improve the health of their communities.... Read More >>

SEATTLE – Gregg Davidson, who served Skagit Valley Hospital and Skagit Regional Health for 37 years, was awarded the prestigious Joe Hopkins Memorial Award for outstanding leadership by the Washington State Hospital Association in Seattle on October 14.... Read More >>

The Washington State Hospital Association honored hospitals with awards recognizing their efforts to achieve high quality care and demonstrate community health leadership during the association’s annual meeting on Oct. 14, 2016, at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront. The Achieving Best Care award and Community Health Leadership award are among the association’s highest honors awarded to health care organizations in Washington state.... Read More >>

See the conference agenda and presentations from our 84th Annual Member Meeting Oct. 13-14 in Seattle.... Read More >>

Gov. Inslee announced an executive order October 7 aimed at ending the opioid crisis in our state. WSHA and WSMA applauded the order, as the opioid crisis represents one of the largest public health issues facing our state.... Read More >>