Connect with us

Washington

Washington hospitals grappling with financial crisis

Published

on

Washington hospitals grappling with financial crisis


Hospitals across Washington state are grappling with a financial crisis that is already leading to job losses.

The federal government, which typically increases Medicaid reimbursements annually, did not approve an increase for 2025. Cassie Sauer, CEO of the Washington State Hospital Association, said Medicaid payments are now lower than they were in 2024, leaving hospitals unable to cover operating expenses.

“If they don’t have the cash flow to cover their operating expenses, they are going to have to make cuts and layoffs,” Sauer said.

Valley Medical Center in Renton has already confirmed to The Renton Reporter layoffs of more than 100 workers. Sauer expressed concern that the Biden administration did not pass the increase and fears the Trump administration may lack the political will to approve it.

Advertisement

“This is a program that is in jeopardy,” Sauer said, citing discussions about Medicaid cuts and reductions in the Medicaid budget.

Sauer noted that current reimbursement rates are so low that hospitals are paid only half of what it costs to care for Medicaid patients. She warned that hospitals across the state could lose a total of $1 billion, putting essential services at risk.

“What the hospital will do will be to close a whole service—like they’ll close labor and delivery, or they’ll close the mental health units, they’ll close their physical therapy department. That service is then gone for the entire community, not just for people on Medicaid,” Sauer said.

The financial strain is compounded by rising costs for staff, supplies, energy, and pharmaceuticals, while payments to hospitals remain stagnant. Sauer also criticized the Washington state legislature for proposing cuts to hospitals and new taxes on them, adding to the pressure on healthcare providers.

The crisis, Sauer emphasized, will affect all residents of Washington, not just those on Medicaid.

Advertisement

Heather Bosch is an award-winning journalist for KIRO Newsradio



Source link

Washington

Bellevue vs. Renton: Watch Washington boys high school basketball tilt live tonight

Published

on

Bellevue vs. Renton: Watch Washington boys high school basketball tilt live tonight


If you purchase a product through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.

Bellevue travels to Renton High School on Friday night for a nonleague matchup that pits two surging programs coming in on win streaks. The Wolverines (12-2) enter riding momentum from last season’s state quarterfinal appearance, while the Red Hawks (7-8) look to build consistency under head coach Rashaad Powell.

Head coach Warren King returns a deep senior class led by Jackson Skaggs, Max Harrity, Eduardo Molina, Kenny Shin, Trevin King and Nick Norrah. The Wolverines also feature junior Tayten Jones, giving them a balanced roster capable of competing with any team in the state.

The Red Hawks counter with their own weapons. Senior Isaac Elegan anchors the lineup, while junior scorer Sudan Luok provides offensive firepower. Junior co-captains Julius White-Kelly, Nick Jarvis and Jalen Taylor round out a core that has shown flashes this season.

Advertisement

Opening tipoff is set for 8 p.m. PT on Friday, January 16 with a live TV broadcast on NFHS Network.

• WATCH: Bellevue vs. Renton basketball is livestreaming on NFHS Network

High school basketball on NFHS Network

Watch high school sports anywhere from wherever you are.

Watch now

Advertisement

How to watch Bellevue vs. Renton basketball livestream

What: Wolverines, Red Hawks set for Friday night Showdown in Renton

When: Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. PT on Friday, January 16

Where: Renton High School | Renton, Washington

Watch live: Watch Bellevue vs. Renton live on the NFHS Network



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Washington

National Guard troops to stay on Washington, DC, streets through 2026

Published

on

National Guard troops to stay on Washington, DC, streets through 2026


WASHINGTON (AP) — National Guard troops will be on the streets of Washington, D.C., until the end of the year, according to a memo reviewed by The Associated Press.

The memo, signed by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and dated Wednesday, said “the conditions of the mission” warranted an extension past the end of next month to continue supporting President Donald Trump’s “ongoing efforts to restore law and order.”

Meanwhile, Trump said this month that for now he was dropping his push to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, which had provoked legal challenges. He also backed off a bit Friday from his threat a day earlier to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy troops to quell protests in Minnesota.

In Washington, troops have been charged with patrolling the streets and picking up trash. Trump has asserted repeatedly that crime has vanished in the city.

Advertisement

Two National Guard troops from West Virginia that were part of the mission in D.C. were shot the day before Thanksgiving. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries.

The National Guard has about 2,400 troops in Washington, with about 700 from D.C. and the rest from 11 states with Republican governors, including Indiana, South Carolina, Alabama and Oklahoma.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Washington

Skeletal remains that washed up on Washington beach identified as Oregon mayor who vanished 20 years ago

Published

on

Skeletal remains that washed up on Washington beach identified as Oregon mayor who vanished 20 years ago


Skeletal remains that washed up on a Washington beach have been identified as those of a former Oregon mayor who vanished in 2006, ending a 20-year mystery with the help of genetic genealogy.

Edwin Asher, who previously was mayor of Fossil, Oregon, disappeared while he was crabbing in Tillamook Bay, on the northwest coast of Oregon, on Sept. 5, 2006, the Grays Harbor County coroner and Othram, a forensic genetic genealogy lab, said in news releases this week.

He was presumed to have drowned and was legally declared dead that same year, officials said.

In November 2006, skeletal remains washed ashore in Taholah, an unincorporated village on the Quinault Indian Reservation in Grays Harbor County, Washington, the coroner’s office said.

Advertisement

Taholah is about 124 miles north of Tillamook Bay.

The local sheriff’s and coroner’s offices responded and collected evidence.

It was determined the remains were those of a man estimated to 20 to 60 years old or older, 5 feet, 9 inches tall and an estimated 170 to 180 pounds.

However, the man was never identified, and he became known as the “Grays Harbor County John Doe (2006).”

Last year, the Grays Harbor Coroner’s Office and the King County medical examiner submitted forensic evidence to Othram to try to identify John Doe.

Advertisement

Scientists used genome sequencing to build a DNA profile for the man and genetic genealogy search to develop “new investigative leads.”

Investigators were led to potential relatives of the man, and reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared with those of John Doe.

Finally, it led to a positive identification: Grays Harbor John Doe was Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher, born April 2, 1934.

He was 72 when he died.

Asher was born in Salem and raised in Astoria, and in 1952 he moved to Fossil, where he was a lineman technician for the Fossil Telephone Co. until he retired in 1995, according to his obituary. He also opened his own shop, Asher’s Variety Store, in 1965.

Advertisement

He loved antique cars, fishing and boating, the obituary said.

He had served as mayor and also volunteered as a local fireman and ambulance driver.

He was survived by his wife of over 20 years, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. NBC News has reached out to the city of Fossil for comment.

Forensic genetic genealogy has grown in popularity in recent years and has helped solve decades-old cold cases.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending