It’s that time again! Open enrollment for the Exchange’s individual market runs November 1, 2015 to January 31, 2016. Washington’s hospitals play a key role in helping patients enroll in either the Health Benefit Exchange’s subsidized health plans or Apple Health, depending on the enrollee’s income. Individuals and families can access enrollment for either program through Washington’s Healthplanfinder portal. ... Read More >>

Please join the Washington State Hospital Association, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, and the Association of Washington Cities for a webinar about important changes in Washington State law as a result of enactment of Senate Bill 5593,which went into effect July 24, 2015. This webinar is for hospital staff and staff of law enforcement entities and governing units affected by the bill. (The webinar will be recorded.)... Read More >>

Special Fiscal Watch   Because of an error in the calculation of the assessment amounts, the Health Care Authority is reissuing the assessment invoices for the first quarter of State... Read More >>

After discussions with WSHA, the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) recently announced it will revise its policy on administrative days and return to the longstanding policy it used previously.... Read More >>

At the very end of the 2015 legislative session and after an extraordinary amount of negotiation and fine-line review, both the House and the Senate passed, and the Governor signed,... Read More >>

Last week the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) sent providers an alert clarifying that HCA will not be adopting a policy adopted for Medicare Part B contractors regarding specificity of... Read More >>

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a proposed rule requiring prospective payment hospitals that provide hip and knee replacements in selected metropolitan areas to participate in... Read More >>

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently clarified rural status, location and distance requirements for critical access hospitals (CAHs). Importantly, the recently released memo (S&C 15-45-CAH) clarifies existing... Read More >>

The Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) is now accepting applications for Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments for 2016. The deadline for applications is August 1 for the Low Income and Small... Read More >>

The Washington State Legislature narrowly avoided a shutdown of state services by agreeing on operating and capital budgets for Fiscal Years 2015-2017. The compromise budgets are very good for hospitals... Read More >>