Northwest Health Law Advocates has retracted a report it published about Washington hospitals' charity care alongside other consumer organizations in December.
The report called on the Washington Department of Health to "hold hospitals accountable" and accelerate the rulemaking process to implement recent changes made by the legislature relating to charity care — free or discounted hospital services provided to people who are financially eligible.
A spokesperson for NoHLA confirmed to Becker's that the report — "The Big Secret: A Statewide Survey of Washington Hospitals and Charity Care" — was removed from its website Jan. 10, but did not respond to a question about why.
The report, which was signed by more than 40 organizations, including nonprofit organization Dollar For and the Economic Opportunity Institute, claimed that Washington hospitals were not telling patients about charity care and that immigrants are disproportionately affected by hospitals failing to inform and denying patients charity care. It also alleged that recent litigation filed by the Washington State Hospital Association appeared to be a "delay tactic."
The WSHA contacted NoHLA to discuss certain issues raised in the report. The consumer advocate group initially dismissed its concerns, arguing that while the data may not have been 100% accurate, the themes were reflective of the issues it heard from clients, a WSHA spokesperson told Becker's.
After multiple hospitals in the state contacted NoHLA with requests for corrections, the group changed its position, according to WSHA.
NoHLA acknowledged that "it is important for the public to have an accurate understanding of individual hospital charity care policies and procedures," and removed the report, WSHA told Becker's. The consumer group also told the hospital association that it will notify the appropriate regulatory authorities about its decision.
"NoHLA and WSHA share the common goal of increasing access to care. We have successfully engaged in advocacy together in the past, including our work expanding children's health coverage and creating coverage options for immigrants," WSHA said in a statement shared with Becker's. "Our shared history demonstrates that we can achieve more when we work together, and we appreciate that the inaccurate report was removed from the NoHLA website."