An industry group representing the state’s hospitals is urging Gov. Jay Inslee to allow more elective health care procedures to resume, saying their facilities have plenty of capacity amid a decline in COVID-19 patients.
The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) sent a letter to Inslee on April 10 asking him to ease the restrictions that were intended to ensure the state’s hospitals were not overwhelmed by what public health officials worried could be a flood of COVID-19 patients. The letter also was signed by by the heads of the Washington State Medical Association and Association of Washington Healthcare Plans.
Cassie Sauer, the chief executive officer of the WSHA, said the organizations renewed its request in a Tuesday phone call with Inslee. She told The Seattle Times that many patients are suffering “while waiting to get the care they need. “
According to association surveys, the statewide average for hospital capacity is at 70%. Sauer said she is concerned about the toll on patients from delayed cancer screenings and a wide range of other procedures, as well as the financial hit on hospitals from reduced revenues.
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“We are way behind other states that already have made this move in recognition that there are many more health needs than COVID,” Sauer said. “We absolutely want to restart the most pressing non-urgent procedures.”
The hospital lobbying effort comes as Inslee faces increasing pressure to loosen restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. It’s an effort that has gained the governor some national recognition but also criticism from some in Washington who want more specifics on the timing of rollbacks.
States that have relaxed hospital elective procedure restrictions include Oregon, where Gov. Kate Brown last week lifted an order delaying nonurgent medical procedures.
Inslee on Monday said his administration was working on a “hospital-specific” plan that would allow some elective surgeries to move forward if hospitals could demonstrate they had enough personal protective equipment, adding that it would be good “from the revenue standpoint for hospitals and also for people who like to get their joints fixed.”
Sauer said that she is hopeful, after the Tuesday conversation with the governor, that there will be some action in loosening hospital restrictions in the next few days.
“We have been collaborating with WSHA and labor unions on interpretive guidelines to help hospitals understand the intent and scope of the governor’s original order,” Tara Lee, a spokeswoman for the governor said Tuesday. “We expect to have this done very soon, perhaps within a day.”
Inslee’s March 19 proclamation banning medical procedures that would not be anticipated to cause harm to the patient if delayed for three months has caused major reductions in surgical procedures, screenings and examinations. The move was impelled by the need to to conserve scarce protective gear for health care workers, and to enable hospitals to dedicate more space, staff and ventilators to the expected increase in hospitalizations due to COVID-19.
Elective procedures, along with primary care visits, are key sources of revenue for hospitals.
“That’s how the money flows into the system — through these elective surgeries, right, or through the bread-and-butter visits, and that’s gone,” said Jill Horwitz, a health policy expert and professor at the UCLA School of Law.
As hospitals incur the cost of treating COVID-19, there are financial pressures to reopen core services.
“They’re essentially businesses,” Horwitz said. “How long can those businesses survive without patients?”
Shortages of protective equipment remain a concern for the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA).
Source: Seattletimes
