Budget & Taxes (Appropriations)

This bill changes how Washington state funds rural emergency hospitals. It requires that payments for services provided by rural emergency hospitals (designated by federal Medicare/Medicaid) must be approved each year through the state budget, rather than being automatically funded. This affects hospitals meeting federal rural emergency hospital criteria, including those that previously received automatic payments. The change applies to all medical assistance program services provided by these hospitals, regardless of patient enrollment in managed care. The bill does not alter existing payment rates but shifts the funding mechanism to annual appropriations.

HB 2488 changes how Washington state pays rural emergency hospitals for services provided to Medicaid patients. It makes these payments dependent on annual state budget appropriations rather than automatic funding. This directly affects rural hospitals federally designated as "rural emergency hospitals" (not critical access hospitals). The bill replaces previous automatic payment rules with a system requiring yearly legislative funding approval for these hospitals to receive Medicaid reimbursement. The change applies to all services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries, regardless of their managed care enrollment.