Washington State Hospital Association
WA hospitals sue state Department of Health over expanded charity care requirements
The association representing most of Washington’s hospitals sued the state Department of Health this week over the department’s new policy that says hospitals should provide non-emergency charity care to out-of-state residents. Washington’s charity care law has long required hospitals to provide emergency care regardless of residence or immigration status and non-emergency care to residents of […]
For those unfit to make decisions, a complex path out of the hospital
The state’s already stretched hospital system is facing added strain from patients who could be discharged but are stuck waiting because they lack a state-appointed guardian. The Washington State Hospital Association estimates that roughly 10% of the state’s hospital beds are occupied by patients who have barriers to being discharged. Among them, a subset, often […]