Josephine Peterson: Pierce council to consider tax increase to fund behavioral health services, revamp Medicaid
News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. 12/22/2020 Josephine Peterson, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
Dec. 22 A Pierce County Council vote Tuesday to increase taxes could bring funding to behavioral health services and change the entire local Medicaid system.
Vice Chair Dave Morell (R-Lake Tapps) has co-sponsored a bill with Democratic council members Connie Ladenburg of Tacoma and Derek Young of Gig Harbor to increase sales tax by one-tenth of 1 percent to provide behavioral health services.
Because the ordinance is a tax hike, it requires a supermajority to pass, or five of the seven votes.
HCA reaches 59% of payments as Value-based Purchasing in 2019 Sydney Kurle | Dec 17, 2020
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As the largest health care purchaser in Washington, the HCA says their goal is to continue to move the health care system towards VBP. Although the original goal for 2019 was to have 75 percent of payments be VBP, the HCA says they remain optimistic that they can reach their goals.
“Washington will use its position in the marketplace to drive transformation as both a first mover and market convener,” says the HCA website. “We will use purchasing power to lead by example and accelerate the adoption of value-based reimbursement and alternative payment strategies in the commercial market.”
A version of this article was first published December 11, 2020, by HCPro s
Q: We have an elderly patient admitted to our hospital who is also presenting with osteoarthritis (OA) of the right knee. Since we don’t report OA very often, we are having trouble determining if we should code primary or secondary OA. How can we determine primary versus secondary OA, and how would it be reported in ICD-10-CM?
A: OA, or degenerative joint disease, is identified in categories M15-M19 of the ICD-10-CM manual. This is the most common type of arthritis in the elderly. If the arthritis is ever in the spine, refer to category M47, Spondylosis.
Q&A: Proper ICD-10-CM Reporting for OA healthleadersmedia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from healthleadersmedia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Activist and author Cyrus Krohn appeared on
Tucker Carlson Tonight to discuss H.B. 2288, which is currently in committee in Washington State. It deals with the establishment of school-based health centers. This bill will provide easy access to confidential physical and mental health services that children aged 13 and older can access without their parents’ consent.
The age of consent for obtaining health care services was lowered to 13 in a bill that went into effect in January of 2020. According to the fact sheet from the Washington State Health Care Authority:
According to Washington law, a minor who is 13 years old or older may initiate an evaluation and treatment for outpatient and/or inpatient mental health services, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, or withdrawal management without parental consent. The minor has the right to receive services in the least restrictive setting. A youth is admitted for inpatient treatment only if the professional in charge of the facil