News

The UW Medicine/Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress is offering free sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) trainings for nurses employed by Washington State hospitals. Travel stipends are available for rural nurses.... Read More >>

The Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) and the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) announced today their support of Gov. Jay Inslee’s executive order aimed at ending the opioid crisis in Washington state.... Read More >>

Governor Inslee announced this week that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a $1.5 billion investment over the next five years to transform Medicaid. The announcement follows months of negotiation, and the funds will come through a 1115 Waiver.... Read More >>

DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day — this year from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 22 —aims to decrease the likelihood of the above by providing a safe and convenient means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the community about the potential for medication abuse.... Read More >>

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) last week released an analysis that showed strong gains in health insurance coverage between 2010 and 2015 across the key demographic areas of income, geography, race and ethnicity. ... Read More >>

Fifteen hospital representatives participated in WSHA’s 2016 Rural Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C., in September, meeting with Sens. Cantwell and Murray and five house members. ... Read More >>

Governor Inslee recently shared budget decision packages that were submitted by the various state agencies to the Office of Financial Management (OFM). These budget requests will be considered by the governor in forming his proposed budget for the 2017-2009 biennium. We anticipate seeing the governor’s budget in mid-December.... Read More >>

The Hospital Safety Net Assessment Program for State Fiscal 2017 went into effect July 1, 2016. Under the program, the state collects assessments from hospitals.... Read More >>

WSHA submitted a comment letter in response to the Health Care Authority’s proposed changes to the payment rules governing Medicaid payment to federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health clinics. In our letter, WSHA voices concerns that the proposed rule language does not enable clinics to support transformation of care delivery without taking on significant financial risk of reduced payments.... Read More >>

Despite strong interest from WSHA, WSMA and members of the two organizations, the Bree Collaborative voted last week to not address prior authorization as a major focus area for the upcoming year.... Read More >>