Washington

Washington has long embraced the PCMH model of care delivery through both private and public sector initiatives. Beginning in the 1990's, partnerships between pediatricians, families, and the Washington State Department of Health Children with Special Health Care Needs Program were established to build the concepts of the medical home into primary care pediatric practices. In 2008, the Substitute House Bill 2549 authorized the creation of the state's first medical home learning collaborative for qualified primary care practices serving children and adults.  Substitute Senate Bill 5891 established several medical home reimbursement pilot projects including a multi-payer medical home demonstration project.  State law, Chapter 48.150 RCW, specifies that a direct primary care medical home must be integrated with an issuer’s Qualified Health Plan (QHP). If a QHP filing contains a direct primary care medical home, then the Health Benefit Exchange will recognize the Office of Insurance Commissioner’s approval of the plan to confirm that the medical home is integrated with the QHP.

The HealthPath Washington partnership between the State of Washington and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid has decided to discontinue implementation of the capitated managed care project. This project was created to integrate medical, behavioral health, and long term services so that benefits could be delivered through managed care organizations.

The Washington Healthcare Improvement Network (WHIN) offers services to primary care clinicians and practice teams to develop health/medical homes, manage care for patients with multiple chronic conditions and improve care transitions. WHIN also serves:

  • Behavioral health teams that plan to collaborate with primary care.
  • Care/case managers or coordinators who are part of a health/medical home team.
  • Pharmacists that plan to collaborate with primary care.
  • Naturopathic doctors and consultant specialty providers on a case-by-case basis.
CHIPRA: 
No
MAPCP: 
No
Dual Eligible: 
No
2703 Health Home: 
Yes
CPCi: 
No
SIM Awards: 
Yes
PCMH in QHP: 
Yes
Legislative PCMH Initiative: 
Yes
Private Payer Program: 
Yes
State Facts: 
Population:
6,862,300
Uninsured Population:
11%
Total Medicaid Spending FY 2013: 
$8.2 Billion 
Overweight/Obese Adults:
61.4%
Poor Mental Health among Adults: 
37.3%
Medicaid Expansion: 
Yes 

SB 5589

Charges the state’s Health Care Cost Transparency Board with measuring and reporting on primary care expenditures and progress toward increasing spending to 12% of total healthcare expenditures.

Chapter 415 budget bill

$110,000 of the general fund—state appropriation for fiscal  year 2020 is provided solely for the office of financial management to determine annual primary care medical expenditures in Washington, by insurance carrier, in total and as a percentage of total medical expenditure. Where feasible, this determination must also be broken  down by relevant characteristics such as whether expenditures were B4 for in-patient or out-patient care, physical or mental health, by type of provider, and by payment mechanism

Guest editorial: The critical need to invest in rural health care

The global pandemic has, rightfully so, grabbed headlines as we all grapple with its ongoing impacts on our health care system. What COVID-19 has also made painfully clear is how strained that system is, particularly in rural communities.

The fact that rural health care is underfunded and understaffed is a story we know all too well — one that started long before the pandemic. The lingering impacts from COVID-19 could have a ripple effect on the more than 1 million Washingtonians who live in rural areas and already face long-standing hardships when trying to receive care.

News Author: 
Jeff Roe, Bill Robertson and Michael Lawler

Five States Join the Peterson-Milbank Program for Sustainable Health Care Costs

Connecticut, Oregon, Nevada, New Jersey, and Washington to implement spending targets to make health care more transparent and affordable

The Milbank Memorial Fund announced March 9, 2021, that Connecticut, Oregon, Nevada, New Jersey, and Washington have been selected to participate in the Peterson-Milbank Program for Sustainable Health Care Costs. With Peterson Center on Healthcare support, the Milbank Memorial Fund and Bailit Health will provide technical assistance to these five states as they set and implement healthcare cost growth targets. These targets are a first step toward making health care more affordable and transparent.

Washington State Purchasers Issue Letter in Support of Efforts to Transform Primary Care

In a letter sent Jan. 26, the Washington Health Alliance (Alliance) and the Purchaser Business Group on Health, formerly Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH), a PCC Executive Member, join with purchasers in expressing support for the state’s efforts to transform the delivery of primary care.

Washington hospitals, community health centers face a new crisis: red ink

In the fight against COVID-19, health care systems have canceled surgeries, shuttered some primary care offices, created COVID-19 wards and left dental chairs empty to prevent the virus’s spread. And as asked, many patients heeded officials’ pleas and stayed home...

About 20% of primary care physicians surveyed nationwide in mid-April by the Primary Care Collaborative predicted they would be forced to close in a month’s time because they lacked staff, cash or patients.

News Author: 
Evan Bush

Gov. Jay Inslee at WSU medical school: Primary care ‘fundamental’

Gov. Jay Inslee stopped by Washington State University Elson S. Floyd Medical School on Friday to celebrate the state’s continued investment and expansion of the program. Inslee said the medical school is a statewide asset, answering several critical needs.
 
“We have a woeful shortage of primary care physicians, and it’s a part of our health care reform effort because primary care physicians can be very cost-effective,” he said. “They are in small communities, and they can reduce the costs over time of health care.”
 
News Author: 
Arielle Dreher

2019 NWRPCA Spring Summit

2019-05-19 08:00 to 2019-05-21 17:00

The NWRPCA Spring Summit, formerly known as the Spring Primary Care Conference, includes the same carefully curated content that event attendees have come to expect of all NWRPCA conferences plus innovative new workshop and skills-enhancing opportunities. 

Over 2.5 days, learn from prominent speakers, hear federal policy updates, and network with primary care colleagues. Event highlights new to the NWRPCA Spring Summit include: Region X peer learning, collaboration, and professional development.

The NWRPCA Spring Summit also hosts NWRPCA's annual membership meeting.

Announcement Type: 

2018 Annual Research Meeting

2018-06-24 09:00 to 2018-06-26 17:00

AcademyHealth’s Annual Research Meeting (ARM), the premier forum for health services research (HSR), convenes the foremost experts at the intersection of health, health care, and policy to share important findings and showcase the latest research on how the health system works, what it costs, and how to improve it.

Announcement Type: 

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