Members can now download slides from the Department of Health’s May 8 webinar on proposed changes to hospital licensing fees. Under the proposal, fees for hospitals would increase by about 60 percent, from $138 to $220 per bed for hospitals licensed under 70.41 RCW and from $85 to $135 per bed for psychiatric and chemical dependency hospitals licensed under 71.12 RCW.
DOH indicated it plans to release a proposed rule soon for hearing and comment with adoption scheduled for October 1.
Reasons given by DOH for the increase include a growing number of off-campus hospital sites requiring inspection, more investigations for serious events such as infection control breaches and other general cost increases. Other than a $15 hike in 2017 for fire inspection costs, the fees were last changed in 2012. See our recent Special Fiscal Watch for more information and materials (Andrew Busz, andrewb@wsha.org)
