Changes in Health & Human Services Administrative Leadership and Direction

The Trump Administration lost again with the scandal and subsequent resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary, Tom Price. Rumors are rampant about his potential replacement. Unfortunately, while…

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Washington State’s Exchange Plans Certified – Rates TBD

Last week, amid uncertainty about the future of the ACA, Washington State’s Health Benefit Exchange Board certified health and dental plans for 2018. Over 180,000 individuals who purchase coverage…

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What We’re Reading and Listening to This Week

Atul Gawande asks people in his hometown of Athens, GA – is health care a right? A public health status link to last November’s election results …

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Alert to Health Advocates about Terminations for “Residency”:

Recently 18,000 Medicaid recipients were terminated for not having Washington State residency after an address  database check through LexisNexis. Some people terminated actually may be residents but did not…

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Threading the Needle: Bipartisan Compromise on Market Stabilization?

Congress returned to DC last week and are once again tackling health care. The Senate Health Committee started hearings about stabilizing the health insurance market. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN)…

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Competing Proposals – Repeal and Replace or Medicare for All?

Yesterday, two contrasting health care reform proposals were released. The Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson plan appears to have similar effects to the recent Republican ACA repeal proposals and would  strip coverage…

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Federal Slashing of Outreach and Enrollment Does Not Affect Washington

The Administration announced a 72% cut to the outreach and enrollment budget for the upcoming Open Enrollment period. This cut does not directly affect Washington State and other…

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DACA: Threats to Young Immigrants Raise Concerns about Health Care Access

The federal Administration announced last week that it would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in six months. The program currently allows over 800,000 young ‘Dreamers’…

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Washington State Investigates Maternal Mortality

Maternal mortality is on the rise in the United States, increasing from 7.2 deaths per 100,000 births in 1987 to 17.3 in 2013. These rates are higher than expected…

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Charity Care Under Close Examination Closer to Home

Last week, Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed suit against St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma for withholding charity care from low-income patients. State law requires hospitals to provide…

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