Alliance Blog

We are pleased to announce that Teresa Battels is joining the Washington Health Alliance (Alliance) as our new Strategic Project Coordinator for the Low-Back Pain Implementation Collaborative (Low-Back PIC). In that role, she will play an integral role in the strategic planning and execution of the project, focused on the implementation of evidence-based strategies to ...

Later this month, Theresa Tamura will be leaving the Washington Health Alliance to take on a new role as a program manager with the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA), where she will help manage the implementation of the Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) funding opportunity through the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare ...

Obesity is not just a health issue for more than 40% of the US population, it is a considerable issue for employers who have faced lost productivity and increased medical costs for those with obesity. For employers, brokers, and consultants interested in learning about options to support employees, members, and their dependents with managing obesity, ...

One of the key elements of health reform in 2009-2010 was the engagement of employers pushing for needed change to the system. Since that time, employers have increasingly become active in working to control their health care costs as purchasers, while also engaging in policy conversations to improve the system as a whole. Washington Health ...

The Smarter Health Care Coalition (SHCC), a multi-stakeholder effort working to promote value-based insurance design, is urging the administration to increase benefits for chronic disease management that can be offered pre-deductible for High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Previous IRS guidance made clear that only preventive services could be covered pre-deductible for ...

There is no question that the pandemic has had serious effects on people’s mental health and, at the same time, it has made significant differences to their waistlines. An estimated 28% of Washington residents consider themselves obese, according to a recent CDC survey, using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Systems (BRFSS), while the national prevalence ...

Washington Health Alliance board member and Confluence Health CEO Dr. Peter Rutherford was awarded the 2021 Joe Hopkins Memorial from the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA). The Joe Hopkins Memorial Award was created in 1987 to acknowledge an individual who displays the spirit of Joe Hopkins, a long-time leader in Washington state health care. It ...

Washington Health Alliance Quality Improvement Committee member Dr. John Vassall was awarded the Steven E. Weinberger Award by the American College of Physicians, the national organization of internal medicine physicians. This prestigious award is bestowed upon a physician executive for distinguished contributions to internal medicine and improving health care. Dr. Vassall commented, “I am honored ...

Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide. Approximately 40% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetimes. While cancer treatment advances have caused cancer mortality rate to drop by 25% since the early 90s, treatment prices have skyrocketed; with drug treatment ranging from $100,000 to $400,000 ...

The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance) presented its eValue8™ Innovation Awards to two Washington state health plans, Cigna and Kaiser Permanente Washington (KP WA), for programs that use innovative approaches to deliver high quality health care. Both winners focused on helping patients access resources that were not directly related to health care, ...

As we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no doubt that it is continuing to have dramatic effects on people’s lives and not just on those who have contracted the disease. There are less obvious, but just as profound impacts that are coming to light on how pandemic-related stress is affecting ...

We are pleased to announce that Jay Fathi, MD, President and Chief Executive Office of Molina Healthcare of Washington, Inc. has joined the Washington Health Alliance’s board of directors. Dr. Fathi is a family physician and recognized community and health care leader across Washington State. After serving for 12 years as a full spectrum family ...