Under a proposed rule, the licensing fee for acute care hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and alcohol and chemical dependency hospitals will increase by $15 per bed to cover the cost of fire safety inspections performed by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. ... Read More >>
The Health Care Authority has issued a value-based payment survey for providers. The survey will assist HCA in tracking progress toward the statewide goal of paying for value-based care, rather than paying for volume of care.... Read More >>
Section 213 of the operating budget bill recently passed by the state legislature includes a proviso requiring Medicaid managed care plans pay rural health clinics, upon request, their full encounter rate at the time of service... Read More >>
The Office of the Insurance Commissioner OIC) has begun a rulemaking process regarding alternative prior authorization processes, sometimes known as “goldcarding”.... Read More >>
The rollercoaster effort by Republicans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took yet another dramatic turn on Tuesday. The unexpected return of ailing Sen. John McCain combined with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence gave Senate GOP leaders the 51 votes necessary to begin debate on the future of the ACA. The Senate is expected to consider three main proposals.... Read More >>
Washington State’s Office of Financial Management’s (OFM’s) Health Research Center recently released a research brief examining potentially preventable hospital readmissions by legislative district across the state. The report examines hospitalizations for 11 conditions that, in theory, would not have required inpatient care if the patients had had timely access to primary or secondary care services, such as vaccinations, antibiotics or regular physician office visits.... Read More >>
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Connect2Health Task Force will convene virtual listening sessions beginning next month to get input on broadband health issues, including on the rural/urban gap and other digital divide issues, from stakeholders outside Washington, D.C.... Read More >>
The purpose of this bulletin is to provide information about a proposed increase in licensing fees for hospitals.... Read More >>
WSHA, with help from our partner organizations, has created a template to help providers and Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs) consider critical elements needed for behavioral health integration as they work to submit applications and plan for implementation of the Medicaid demonstration behavioral health integration project.... Read More >>
Monday’s action does not mean the end of the health care debate in Congress. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to try to pass a bill that first passed in 2015 and was vetoed by President Obama that would simply repeal the ACA, effective in two years. Congress would use the intervening two years to develop a replacement. However, that effort also appears to be doomed, as three Republican Senators on Tuesday announced they would vote against such a measure.... Read More >>
