News

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will hold a webinar from 9-10 a.m. PST Wednesday, May 25, on Medicaid and CHIP Continuous Enrollment Unwinding... Read More >>

The Department of Health (DOH) announced that it will hold a Certificate of Need (CN) Rulemaking Kickoff meeting on May 25, 2022, at 2 p.m. via Zoom. The workshop is open to anyone interested in the CN program and will provide an overview of DOH’s upcoming work on the CN rules... Read More >>

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform hospitals that by January 1, 2023 hospitals must adopt a policy on the prevention and control of the transmission of pathogens of epidemiological concern in accordance with a new law enacted through HB 1739 (2022). This change is required because HB 1739 modernizes current RCW 70.41.430 from its’ narrow focus on methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to general provisions addressing “pathogens of epidemiological concern.”  ... Read More >>

Substitute House Bill 1616 , which becomes effective July 1, 2022, substantially expands who may qualify for free or discounted care under the charity care law by raising the incomes under which patients qualify for free and discounted care. The bill also provides details on how and when hospitals may consider assets as part of determining... Read More >>

The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) recently finalized its rulemaking for enforcement of the requirement under Senate Bill 5377 that hospitals contract with at least one public option plan if they receive an offer from a carrier. WSHA had submitted comments during the rulemaking process. While HCA adopted some of WSHA’s suggested changes, we... Read More >>

On April 18, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its proposed FY 2023 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) rule. WSHA is preparing a detailed summary of the proposed rule and hospital-specific impact analyses, which will be sent within the next few weeks to hospital chief financial officers and finance staff. CMS will accept comments... Read More >>

On April 18, Confluence Health CEO Dr. Peter Rutherford told the Health Care Cost Transparency Board that Confluence’s hospitals needed increases in its commercial rates to sustain its operations, since costs of providing care continue to rise and there are either low and no payment increases from Medicare and Medicaid. These factors make it difficult for hospitals... Read More >>

On March 31, 2022, Governor Inslee signed E2SHB 1688 (Chap. 263, Laws of 2022) which aligns portions of the state’s Balance Billing Protection Act to the federal No Surprises Act and adds new provisions. The law went into effect on that date. Last week, WSHA provided a Bulletin to members summarizing key components of E2SHB 1688. The state... Read More >>

The Health Care Authority (HCA) recently updated information regarding billing of take-home opioid reversal medication pursuant to  Senate Bill 5195, enacted during the 2021 legislative session. WSHA has been actively working with HCA to obtain updated information as HCA develops its billing and payment processes. Beginning May 1, hospitals and behavioral health agencies can bill... Read More >>

On April 26, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler extended two existing emergency orders through May 28. The orders prohibiting health insurers from applying copays or deductibles on testing for the COVID-19 and protecting consumers from surprise bills for lab fees related to medically necessary diagnostic testing for COVID-19 are both extended until May 28. The order waiving... Read More >>