The Department of Health (DOH) is proposing increases to hospital licensing fees by about 60 percent, from the current $138 to $220 per bed for general, acute care hospitals and from $85 to $135 per bed for psychiatric and chemical dependency hospitals licensed. DOH has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday, June 25. A link to the proposed rule, hearing information, and DOH summary of cost drivers related to the fee increase proposal is available on the DOH website here. Stakeholders can submit written comments on the proposed rule here through June 25.
Reasons given by DOH for the increase include increased number of off-campus hospital sites requiring inspection, increased investigations for serious events such as infection control breaches, and general cost increases over time such as salaries. Other than a $15 increase in 2017 for fire inspection costs, the fees were last changed in 2012. (Andrew Busz, andrewb@wsha.org)
