<p><p>Providence Health & Services will reimburse the hundreds of Medicaid patients whose accounts were sent to debt collectors when they didn’t pay, the Renton, Washington-based health care provider with hospitals in Spokane announced last week. </p></p><p><p>Citing an “unintended error,” Providence’s chief financial officer said in a statement the nonprofit would be reaching out to the…… Continue Reading
The Dirt: Jubilant HollisterStier moves forward with plant expansion
<p><p>Pharmaceutical manufacturer Jubiliant HollisterStier is moving forward with the next phase of its plant expansion in east Spokane.</p></p><p><p>Spokane-based NAC Architecture filed a predevelopment application with the city on behalf of Jubilant HollisterStier to build a 147,200-square-foot addition to the west end of the company’s existing plant at 3525 N. Regal St.</p></p><p><p>The addition will house a…… Continue Reading
Republicans hopeful with Smiley Senate run, but likely face an uphill battle against longtime senator Murray
<p><p>There’s no doubt that Republicans are underdogs when trying to capture statewide office in Washington. They haven’t won an election for governor since 1980. They haven’t won a race for U.S. Senate since 1994. They hold no statewide offices.</p></p><p><p>But this year, state and national Republicans believe Democratic Sen. Patty Murray is vulnerable in her November…… Continue Reading
They were entitled to free care. Instead, hospitals hounded them to pay.
<p><p>In 2018, senior executives at one of the country’s largest nonprofit hospital chains, Providence, were frustrated. They were spending hundreds of millions of dollars providing free health care to patients. It was eating into their bottom line.</p></p><p><p>The executives, led by Providence’s chief financial officer at the time, devised a solution: a program called Rev-Up.</p></p><p><p>Rev-Up provided…… Continue Reading
Death is anything but a dying business as private equity cashes in
<p><p>Private equity firms are investing in health care <a href=”https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2769544″>from cradle</a> to grave, and in that latter category quite literally. A small but growing percentage of the funeral home industry – and the broader <a href=”https://2016.export.gov/build/groups/public/@eg_main/@byind/@healthtech/documents/webcontent/eg_main_113189.pdf”>death care</a> market – is being gobbled up by private equity-backed firms attracted by high profit margins, predictable income, and…… Continue Reading
Jacob Thorpe: Washington State's win over Cal shows collapse won't be commonplace for this year's Cougs
<p><p>Fans can be forgiven for the sense of collective unease that settled on Martin Stadium early in the fourth quarter of Washington State’s homecoming game against California.</p></p><p><p>Fresh off one fourth-quarter collapse in Pullman last week, and with such a history for giving up late leads that “Coug it” can be found in regional newspapers at…… Continue Reading
'A lot of characters with character.' Members of Washington State's 1997 Rose Bowl team return for 25-year reunion
<p><p>PULLMAN – Bill Doba’s Friday excursion began at 1 a.m. Pacific Time. There was a 45-minute drive from his lake home in southern Michigan to the regional airport in South Bend, Indiana, a short flight to Minneapolis, a four-hour layover, a three-hour flight to Spokane and a 90-minute drive to Pullman.</p></p><p><p>Doba, now 82 years old,…… Continue Reading
The U.S. Postal Service holds massive hiring event to fill 2,000 positions in Washington
<p><p>The U.S. Postal Service is looking to recruit more than 2,000 workers in Washington as part of a massive hiring event to fill vacant positions before the holiday season.</p></p><p><p>The post office held job fairs Thursday and Friday at 103 post offices in the state, including four in the Spokane area.</p></p><p><p>“I think since COVID, we’ve had…… Continue Reading
'Putin has lost this war': Jim Risch on Russia's escalation in Ukraine
<p><p>WASHINGTON – More than seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the Kremlin’s move to annex four provinces in eastern Ukraine on Friday doesn’t change the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed to meet his main objective of toppling the government in Kyiv.</p></p><p><p>“Putin has…… Continue Reading
While UI faculty are warned against even talking about emergency contraception, WSU will offer emergency contraceptives in vending machine
<p><p>Separated by just 8 miles, Washington State University and the University of Idaho remain vastly different places. Now in the post-Roe v. Wade era, the differences are more apparent than ever.</p></p><p><p>This week, the University of Idaho warned faculty and staff that counseling students about abortion or contraception could lead to termination or result in a…… Continue Reading