Today, June 1, the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) announced that two new managed care options for Basic Health and Medicaid have been added in Clark County. Clark had previously been the only one of 39 Washington counties not assigned at least one health plan. (more…)
The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) has expressed their concern with Gov. Gregoire’s veto of certain proviso language in the state’s recently passed budget.
In this week’s edition of “Inside Olympia,” a newsletter by the WSHA, attention was brought to three of the governor’s veto decisions which are expected to impact hospitals and health systems. Of those three, the veto worrying the WSHA is of the proviso language in Section 213(45), which according the governor would have required the HCA to: (more…)
A federal court judge in Tacoma denied a motion by Community Health Plan of Washington and Columbia United Providers to halt the state Medicaid RFP process.
The motion, which was outlined in a previous story on State of Reform, was part of a legal case the entities are bringing against the state. According to a release from CUP, the case will now move forward to a full trial.
This week, a federal court judge ruled against Columbia United Providers’ (CUP) motion for injunction against the state of Washington. The motion sought to halt the state’s efforts, which appear to have the effect of eliminating access to providers in Clark County for Medicaid beneficiaries. The motion was brought in a joint effort by CUP and Community Health Plan of Washington in advance of a hearing on the merits of the case in a full trial.
While the CUP/CHPW case is now cleared to move forward to a full trial, CUP and CHPW are considering the merits of appealing the judge’s decision on this motion to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The judge’s decision can be read here.
Nick Budnick, for The Oregonian, writes that in 2011 Oregon lawmakers passed health care reforms that are “supposed to blaze new ground for the nation, using locally based groups of Oregon providers, hospitals and clinics, to save money while offering innovative, high-quality care for the neediest.” (more…)
Monday, Columbia United Providers (CUP) and Community Health Plan of Washington (CHPW) were in federal court against the Washington State Health Care Authority laying out evidence that the state’s Medicaid RFP process created an unfair playing field for respondents. The two plans filed a joint complaint against the state, which included hundreds of documents for review. (more…)
A budget proviso is making the rounds in Olympia that would address the rejection of CUP from the state’s Medicaid managed care plan, Healthy Options. (more…)
Last Friday was the deadline for protests to be filed against the decision by the Health Care Authority to contract with 5 of 7 interested health plans. (more…)
The Columbian, the daily paper based in Clark County, ran a story in today’s paper on CUP losing the bid for the Medicaid contract. It’s a broad look with some interesting tidbits. (more…)
