News

The Washington Health Benefit Exchange announced this week that its next open enrollment period would be 10 weeks, spanning from Nov. 1, 2017 to Jan. 15, 2018. The announcement follows the previous market stabilization rules that shortened the open enrollment period to six weeks, but left it up to the discretion of state exchanges on whether to extend the enrollment window.... Read More >>

Gov. Inslee this week signed into law HB 1427, which enacts several recommendations made by the King County Heroin and Opioid Task Force to help cities and counties across the state confront the opioid epidemic by lowering barriers and reducing wait lists for treatment. The bill will give health care providers more information about their prescribing practices to boost the use of best practices.... Read More >>

Hospitals and others can apply through July 17 for grants of up to $500,000 each for equipment and technical assistance to provide telemedicine services in rural areas, the Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday.... Read More >>

Despite the end of the regular legislative session, work continues on legislation regarding balance billing of patients that receive services from a provider not contracted with their health plan. HB 2114 earlier passed the House but was not voted by the full Senate.... Read More >>

A new lookup tool is available that will allow providers to check if a clinician or group who bills Medicare meets the volume thresholds and will need to submit quality data under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). The Medicare Administrative Contractors sent notices to qualifying entities via mail. Providers can check online by entering a provider or group’s national provider identifier on the Quality Payment Program website. ... Read More >>

WSHA recently produced and sent a series of hospital-specific analyses, described below, to the chief financial officer or other designated finance persons at each of our member hospitals.... Read More >>

WSHA industry partner Meridian Healthcare believes lease arrangements of new or used medical equipment can provide hospitals and other medical organizations the ability to meet equipment needs in a flexible and cost-effective manner, particularly as needs change quickly in today’s dynamic environment. ... Read More >>

Gov. Jay Inslee today signed House Bill 1427 to enact several recommendations made by the King County Heroin and Opioid Task Force. The bill will help cities and counties across the state confront the epidemic by lowering barriers to treatment and reducing wait lists for treatment. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Eileen Cody, will give health care providers more information about their prescribing practices to boost the use of best practices.... Read More >>

WSHA will host a webcast from 12-1 p.m. May 23 detailing the latest legislative action taking place at the federal and state level, as the American Health Care Act is on its way to the Senate in Washington, D.C., and the cycle of special sessions has begun in Olympia. ... Read More >>

The Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) authorized Medicare to promote the use of “appropriate use criteria” (AUC) before ordering advanced diagnostic tests — such as advanced imaging as well as the use of clinical decision support mechanisms in eight clinical areas — for Medicare patients. WSHA Industry partner PARA Healthcare Financial Services has written a paper detailing developments regarding this topic.... Read More >>