Healthier Washington recently released the final report of the Rural Health Innovation Accelerator Committee (RHIAC), entitled “A New Vision For Rural Health in Washington.”  Jacqueline Barton True participated in the RHIAC, along with WSHA members Eric Moll, CEO of Mason General Hospital, and Linda Gipson, Chief, Quality and Transformation Officer at WhidbeyHealth. ... Read More >>

The Health Care Authority (HCA) announced that statewide $138 million of funding will be available for Accountable Communities of Health (ACH) Medicaid transformation projects, pending approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The funding is for the first year of the demonstration. The majority of the funding will go to providers participating in the projects. If your hospital or health system is interested in participating in the demonstration projects, WSHA strongly encourages your staff to be involved in those ACH discussions.... Read More >>

WSHA recently released a bulletin explaining details of the decision to pursue “mid-adopter” status for financial integration of Medicaid benefits for behavioral health. WSHA supports financial integration of Medicaid benefits so that patients may have a single managed care organization responsible for benefits and cost of their care. The bulletin includes frequently asked questions about the topic as well as resources.... Read More >>

The purpose of this bulletin is to help you understand the implications of regions and counties pursuing mid adopter financial integration of Medicaid benefits for behavioral health.... Read More >>

The purpose of this bulletin is to make you aware of recent developments on the Medicaid demonstration waiver. Recently, the Health Care Authority’s technical advisory consultant, Manatt, released information on the magnitude of dollars available through this work. ... Read More >>

U.S. Senate Republican leaders have indicated that they intend to vote on a new version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) by the end of June. A group of GOP senators have been working behind closed doors to rewrite the House version of the bill. In order to be voted on by the end of June, the new product would likely need to be completed sometime next week.... Read More >>

Despite a strong effort by WSHA and other advocacy groups in the state legislature and motions for reconsideration, Volk v. DeMeerleer, a Supreme Court decision impacting delivery of mental health services, remains law in Washington State. Volk found that providers have a duty to warn or protect those who may be foreseeably harmed by a patient, even if no specific individual was identified. The ruling creates ambiguity for providers, as it alters the scope of duty to warn in several critical ways.... Read More >>

The Bree Collaborative has approved its draft opioid prescribing metrics for dissemination for public comment. WSHA and the Washington State Medical Association’s Joint Opioid Taskforce has reviewed earlier versions of the Bree prescribing metrics and was supportive of their precision and direction. Our taskforce will re-review the metrics as they have undergone changes and provide formal comments to the collaborative. ... Read More >>

WSHA members have been asking for steps to help with an increasingly burdensome process from private payers on prior authorization.  On June 5, after an extended stakeholder process, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner adopted a rule on prior authorization that addresses carrier transparency.  ... Read More >>

Recently the Health Care Authority, the Department of Health, and other state agencies sent notices some entities contracted with the state.  The notice says state contracts will be suspended if the legislature fails to agree on budget appropriations for the upcoming biennium by midnight of June 30, 2017.... Read More >>