News

On August 2, CMS released its final Inpatient Prospective Payment System rule for 2020. ... Read More >>

On August 2, The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) released stakeholder draft rules for HB 1065, the Balance Billing Protection Act, which recently passed during the 2019 legislative session. ... Read More >>

WSHA has been working with the State Health Care Authority to finalize details of the Hospital Safety Net Assessment Program for state fiscal year 2020, which began July 1.... Read More >>

A Washington Court of Appeals has ruled that hospitals are not entitled to deduct business and occupation (B&O) taxes from Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) payments made on behalf of out of state patients. ... Read More >>

WSHA’s Government Affairs team has published its August 2019 update to its State Regulatory Issues webpage. ... Read More >>

This bulletin is to inform hospitals and health systems about Senate Bill 5386, relating to telemedicine training and Senate Bill 5387, relating to telemedicine credentialing. WSHA worked to ensure that these new laws provided appropriate flexibility for providers while recognizing the desire by the Legislature to continue to advance telemedicine in Washington State.... Read More >>

We know that electing good people to public office who will enact smart, supportive laws is a priority for you, our members. ... Read More >>

This report makes recommendations to modernize the trauma system to meet the needs of Washington’s growing population into the future. The findings in the report will be of interest to many hospitals, as each hospital plays an important part of the state’s trauma system. Future funding decisions and changes to the regulations governing the system will impact all acute care hospitals in Washington state.... Read More >>

This bulletin is to inform hospitals of new requirements to notify their local coroner or medical examiner regarding maternal deaths that occur on or after July 28, 2019.... Read More >>

Imagine the elderly woman who suffers an accident and wanted her niece to be her surrogate decision-maker. Unfortunately, she did not fill out a health care directive prior to losing decision-making capacity. Before the passage of House Bill 1175, she would have had to endure a lengthy, painstaking guardianship process to have the person she trusts be her health care decision-maker. ... Read More >>