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What the new Boeing health care deals means for employees, UW and...
Boeing announced new deals Friday with UW Medicine and Providence Health & Services/Swedish that are designed to give employees a new health care option and save the company and workers money. The...
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Machinists, aerospace engineers out – for now – on new Boeing health plan...
The new health care deals that Boeing struck with UW Medicine and Providence Health and Services/Swedish won’t be available to the largest unions, officials at Boeing said Friday. That leaves out the...
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Hospitals win: Judge throws out state's tougher rules on mergers
In a major win for Washington state hospitals, a Thurston County Superior Court judge has thrown out broad new rules that gave the state more control of new mergers and affiliations. The decision by...
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Looking out, looking in: UW researchers develop sensor that can be embedded...
Engineers at the University of Washington have designed a high-tech sensor that can be permanently embedded in a glaucoma patient’s eye to track critical pressure changes. After being embedded with an...
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WSU moves fast to staff up new College of Medical Sciences in Spokane
Following recent news of Washington State University’s (WSU) desire to open its own medical school, the school’s College of Medical Sciences is adding five new faculty members. WSU’s Board of Regents...
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A question of justice: Is Washington's agency appeals system fair to business...
Ongoing turmoil at Washington's Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) has brought the issue of fairness in administrative hearings to the attention of Washington lawmakers — and now some are...
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Whistleblower judge: You've got to be able to trust the state system
In her first public statements since being put on leave, a whistleblower judge argued it is critical for those in her position — deciding cases filed against state agencies — to be allowed to make...
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Affiliations aren't just for hospitals anymore: Puget Sound and Lane blood...
Seattle-based Puget Sound Blood Center and Lane Blood Center in Eugene, Ore., are finalizing plans for an affiliation later this year. The two organizations are waiting for approval from their...
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Overlake offers a low-cost way to check lungs for cancer early
Doctors at Overlake say they’re tired of waiting until it’s too late to discover patients have lung cancer, so the hospital is offering a new, low-cost option to encourage more high-risk patients to...
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Ron Sims on 2015 health exchange: 'A budget isn’t a Christmas tree'
Ron Sims has concerns about the Washington State Health Benefit Exchange budget. Sims, who will take the helm of the Washington State Health Benefit Exchange in July, said he has two goals for the...
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60 days and counting: New college grads get extra time to sign up for health...
Now that commencement is done and caps and gowns are in the closet, it's time for the region's college graduates to start thinking about health insurance. Many new college graduates learn quickly that...
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Need proof of the huge demand for psych services? Watch as Seattle Children's...
Demand has been so great at the inpatient psychiatric unit at Seattle Children’s Hospital that leaders are working on an expansion to double its current capacity. The expansion reflects the outsized...
View ArticleAnalysis: Boeing’s big deals with UW Medicine, Providence
UW Medicine and Providence Health and Services/Swedish scored new contracts to provide a new health care option for Boeing employees. Lucrative big contracts with large employers are the white whales...
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A funny thing happened on the way to the health care tweetup …
Officials at the Washington State Health Benefit Exchange called the tweetup earlier this week aimed at reaching recent college grads"very successful." But something about that Twitter conversation...
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Could Seattle-area bars start allowing e-cigarettes inside?
Could Seattle-area bars allow "vaping" inside the bar? That's a question raised by the Spokesman Review, a Spokane-based daily newspaper. A public researcher at Washington State University said labels...
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Obamacare’s latest round of financial penalties for hospitals
New penalties under the Affordable Care Act will dock hospitals that don’t meet new Medicare requirements for cutting down on hospital-acquired infections. The Seattle Times reports that five hospitals...
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Here's how King County employees lost weight, quit smoking and saved $46M
As the hospitals, insurers and large employers look for ways to save on health care costs, King County may be able to show private industry a thing or two. Since undertaking a major change in its...
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Transparency in Washington’s health care industry gets national attention
National media have taken notice of Premera’s role in the defeat of a bill designed to bring more price transparency to consumers in Washington state. Jason Millman, of the Washington Post’s Wonkblog,...
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UW Medicine, Valley Medical Center deal is legal, has implications for future...
The three-year-old partnership between UW Medicine and Renton-based Valley Medical Center is legal, according to a decision issued Monday by the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington. It is the...
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After winning big Boeing contract, Providence-Swedish is ready for the next...
Providence Health & Services is fresh off winning one of two high-profile contracts to care for Boeing employees, but that’s just the beginning, according to officials at the Renton-based health...
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