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Washington state OKs alternative emergency department plan

Posted April 23, 2012

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Washington state lawmakers have approved a budget agreement that includes funding to encourage new best practices for treating Medicaid patients in emergency departments.

The state Legislature approved its budget on April 11. The agreement makes official the suspension of a no-payment policy for Medicaid emergency department services that are deemed unnecessary and provides $8.8 million in funding for an alternative policy, according to the Washington State Hospital Assn.

The alternative plan’s approval comes at the end of a long legislative and legal battle between the state and emergency physicians.

The state was set to prohibit Medicaid pay associated with more than 400 patient conditions in emergency departments starting on April 1. The list included some burns and strains deemed not medically necessary for the ED setting, which often is more costly compared with similar outpatient care in physician offices. But the governor and state officials decided to delay its implementation after the development of the alternative proposal, which focuses on improving coordination of care and using education and best practices to prevent emergency visits for routine physician services.

Emergency physicians hope to help implement the new plan by July.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/04/23/gvbf0423.htm.

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