WSHA continues to advocate for improvements to the Department of Health’s proposed charity care rules to ensure charity care is accessible to patients and workable for hospitals. This week, WSHA members and staff participated in a public hearing urging the Department to pause the current rulemaking process, address significant patient-facing and operational concerns, and restart the formal CR-102 process once revisions are made.
Hospitals support efforts to increase awareness of and access to charity care, but several provisions in the proposed rules could create unintended negative consequences. Concerns include billing delays that may prevent patients from receiving timely statements, restrictions on verifying financial eligibility, cybersecurity and HIPAA risks associated with email submissions, challenges related to professional services requirements, unrealistic response deadlines, and insufficient implementation time for hospitals to update systems and workflows.
WSHA is engaging with the Department of Health, Secretary Worsham, the Governor’s Office, and state legislators to seek practical solutions. We are also providing hospital leaders with advocacy messages and resources to help communicate the need for workable rules that protect patients while preserving access to care.