Washington State Capitol Building in Olympia. File photo

Washington State Capitol Building in Olympia. File photo

House passes bill to increase financial reporting, transparency by healthcare providers

Bill’s prime sponsor says it will help address healthcare equity and affordability.

Washington state legislators in the House passed a bill intended to increase financial transparency and reporting among healthcare organizations.

House Bill 1272 passed in the House after a 58 to 40 vote on Feb. 25.

The bill’s prime sponsor, Nicole Macri (D-Seattle), said her bill will help the state to better understand how healthcare organizations are using tax dollars to serve different communities and will allow for these organizations to be held accountable as government spending on healthcare increases.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Macri said the Washington state government purchases more healthcare services than any other entity in the state, both for public employees and on behalf of more than two million low-income residents. She said that is why it is important for the public and for decision-makers to understand how well public dollars are being budgeted.

“This bill seeks data that will unveil what is important to solving, not just the sustainability and affordability of healthcare for Washingtonians,” Macri said. “It will also help us in solving the deep racial inequities in healthcare settings, including [higher] mortality rates that people of color, especially Black people face.”

If passed in the Senate, the bill would require healthcare providers to give detailed reports of the staff on-duty, the services they provide, the cost of those services and demographic information about the patients who receive care. Including the patient’s race, ethnicity, preferred language, any disability and zip code of primary residence.

Legislative Director at the Washington State Labor Council AFL-CIO Sybill Hyppolite said having data to see how healthcare resources are being used and how different patients are being treated across different intersectionalities will help us hold our healthcare system accountable.

Hyppolite said healthcare can often feel like a “black box,” in which patients receive their bill and it can be unclear exactly how costs are determined.

“Over the past decade, we watched our healthcare systems consolidate and expand at rapid rates,” Hyppolite testified to the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 18. “And while communities and legislators were told that increased consolidation would lead to lower costs and improved care, the data tells us otherwise.”

The bill includes provisions that each hospital must report data elements identifying its revenues, expenses, contractual allowances, charity care, bad debt, other income, total units of inpatient and outpatient services, and other financial and employee compensation information.

Hyppolite said this kind of financial reporting comprehensively helps to hold healthcare providers accountable and focused on providing affordable and cost-efficient care, which she says is especially important for non-profit healthcare facilities that are exempt from certain taxes as part of a good-faith agreement that they will responsibly provide affordable care for their communities.

She said she suspects large healthcare systems that have shifted focus away from care quality and affordability in favor of financial gain will not be compelled to change until stats and data publicly show their failure.

“You need to be able to see what is going on to be able to fix it,” Hyppolite said.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

t
Teen crashes into fire hydrant, floods Kent apartments

15-year-old driver reportedly moving car in parking lot when he struck hydrant

t
City of Kent opens two new roundabouts along Reith Road

Contractor wraps up construction along route between West Hill and Valley

File Photo
Death of Kent man, 61, at home in October 2024 ruled homicide

King County Sheriff’s Office says incident ‘remains an open death investigation’

t
Sound Transit light rail stations in Kent closer to completion | Photos

Vehicle testing begins as agency eyes spring 2026 opening of Federal Way Link extension

t
Kent Police bust four people for DUI on New Year’s Day

Officers arrest drivers between 1 and 5 a.m. during extra patrols following New Year’s Eve

Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. FILE PHOTO
Three men charged in 2023 Kent murder of 48-year-old woman

Recent witness information identifying men help lead to charges in July 2023 shooting

FILE PHOTO, Bailey Jo Josie, Sound Publishing
Chase Wilcoxson, father to Matilda, 13, and Eloise,12, places a family photo at the roadside memorial dedicated to his daughters, Buster Brown, 12, and Andrea Hudson, 38, killed in a March 19 crash.
Year in review: Kent’s top stories of 2024

A month-by-month look at several of the headlining stories.

t
Kent Reporter’s most viewed web stories of 2024

Second fatal shooting of Kent-Meridian student in three days leads the list

t
Kent man pleads guilty to attempted luring of 6-year-old girl

Prosecutors initially filed second-degree attempted kidnapping charge in July case

t
Man charged with tagging Kent water tower faces nine other cases

Kyle A. McLaughlin pleads not guilty in two cases but Kent arraignment and other cases continued

t
Vandalism at Islamic Center in Kent causes concern about potential hate crime

Man throws objects through windows at Islamic Center of Federal Way mosque before speeding off in pickup

t
Kent receives $1.1M grant for Pacific Highway pedestrian crossing

Federal funds will pay for safety improvements near South 246th Street

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Kent Reporter relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in