News

Medicaid inpatient hospital payment rates for Washington hospitals paid on the prospective payment system now incorporate penalties based on “excessive” rates of hospital readmissions. A number of hospitals will see small reductions in payment because of this change – with penalties ranging from 0.0 percent to a maximum of 1.0 percent. The new policy from the Health Care Authority penalizes hospitals that appear to have an excessive number of potentially preventable admissions, based on an HCA analysis using 3M Corporation software.... Read More >>

On November 1, 2015 the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) made an 8 percent reduction in inpatient Medicaid payment rates. There appears to be material errors in the November calculation. As a result of questions that WSHA raised, HCA informed us it discovered an error in the inpatient calculation related to how it priced payments for certified public expenditure hospitals.... Read More >>

PeaceHealth Medical Group is offering free one-on-one weight loss counseling sessions to their Medicare patients to help battle obesity. The program, titled “Intensive Behavioral Therapy” (IBT), was developed by Medicare to help those with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher keep their weight down. PeaceHealth is offering the service to all its patients with Medicare Part A or Part B coverage who are referred by their primary care provider.... Read More >>

Hospitals and health systems, health care practices, community-based organizations and others can apply until March 31 to participate in a new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation model that will test whether access to health-related social services reduces health care costs and use of inpatient and outpatient health care services for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Jan. 5.... Read More >>

The Washington Health Benefit Exchange has announced that nearly 174,000 Washington State residents have signed up for or renewed their health coverage as of Jan. 2. The deadline to select a Qualified Health Plan is Jan. 31 for coverage beginning March 1.... Read More >>

I was tickled to see the topic of hospital affiliations become a hot topic on the final season of Downton Abbey, despite the media poo-pooing (“Is the saga of the Downton Cottage Hospital the dullest plotline in TV history?” and “Downton Abbey's dreary hospital storyline a symptom of show's slow and painful death” and from the Guardian: “… Cousin Violet and Cousin Isobel are at war over something very tedious about a hospital”).... Read More >>

The affiliation between Virginia Mason and the Yakima-based Memorial Family of Services, which includes Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, became official on Jan. 1 as expected. The affiliation — a non-cash transaction — became official following regulatory review, making Memorial Family of Services and Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital part of Virginia Mason. The organizations signed legal documentation for the affiliation in November.... Read More >>

Recent member news from the Jan. 7, 2016 Weekly Report.... Read More >>

We are getting ready for the 2016 legislative session, and are excited to invite you to our legislative session kickoff webcast. Cassie Sauer, Claudia Sanders and Mary Kay Clunies-Ross will talk about WSHA’s top priorities for the session, as well as how recent leadership changes might affect health care legislation this year.... Read More >>

Recent member news from the Dec. 31, 2015 Weekly Report.... Read More >>