WA hospitals sound alarm on reductions to come if GOP spending bill passes
Tuesday’s Senate approval of the GOP budget bill could lead to further reductions in service, according to the Washington State Hospital Association.
The agency said hospitals already running on tight margins will struggle if the federal government reduces its Medicaid reimbursements to facilities.
It said service reductions will affect entire communities, not just Medicaid patients.
Columbia County Health System Chief Executive Shane McGuire said Dayton General Hospital and several others in Washington may face closure.
"I've got to imagine that more than a few of us are thinking about how do we transform or what do we need to do in order to live within these new constraints," McGuire said. "And for rural, that's just a really complex question."
McGuire said his hospital system isn’t at immediate danger of closing its doors, but it could need to convene some tough conversations about health care services in his community.
Cassie Sauer, executive director of the state hospital association, said proposed cuts to Medicaid could affect all Washingtonian hospitals.
"Some of the services that we think will be cut most quickly could be things like urgent cares, primary care clinics," she said. "And it's could be it's hospitals all across the state. So it could be the most urban hospitals to the smallest rural hospitals really affected by this."
Though only about a quarter of Washingtonians are on Medicaid, Sauer said hospitals rely on it.
Spokane and Yakima will be particularly affected, she said.
Both areas are represented by Republicans who supported the bill the first time it was in the House.
Eastern Washington Congressman Michael Baumgartner (R-WA05) posted on X Tuesday, "Pleased to see the “One Big Beautiful Bill” pass the Senate!"
His post praised the bill’s "robust military spending" and tax cuts.
His colleague in the middle of the state — Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA04) — will review the legislation before determining how to vote, his spokesperson said.
WA child deaths up in first months of 2025
The number of children in Washington who died or nearly died tripled in the first three months of 2025, compared to the same period last year.
The state reported incidents with 27 children through March of this year.
More than half involved opioids.
"Any time there’s a fatality of a young person, absolutely it is tragic," Washington Department of Children, Youth and Families Secretary Tana Senn said. "Reading the cases every time is heartbreaking. It hits you personally every single time — no question."
About half of the incidents involved babies and children under three years old.
The state’s report only includes children who were involved in Washington state’s child welfare system in the year leading up to the incident.
Senn said the agency is responding by requiring “safe child consults” any time a case comes to the state’s attention that involves both opioids and a child under the age of three.
New soccer league for disabled athletes coming to Spokane
Spokane Zephyr and Spokane Velocity are partnering with local groups Unified Sports and Side by Side to bring more athletes to the pitch.
Spokane is one of the four founding cities of the Inspire Soccer League, which is a year-round competitive league for people with intellectual disabilities.
The other founding clubs are in Colorado Springs, Knoxville, and Houston.
The Inspire Soccer league was founded in part by Spokane Velocity player and Barcelona native Nil Vinyals.
It’s modeled after a league in Spain dedicated to athletes with intellectual or developmental disabilities called LaLiga Genuine.
But Vinyals says Inspire Soccer League takes it to the next level by "providing nutritional plans, a fitness app for the athletes. "
"The whole idea is that the athletes can represent their city at the biggest stage possible: professional stadiums," he told SPR News. "And the events are only for them."
Tryouts for the Spokane team will take place in the middle of July.
The first games are set for August 22-24 in Colorado Springs, and the second fixture will be in Spokane September 12-14.
WDFW weighs regulations on lead ammo
More hunters in Oregon are using lead-free ammunition thanks to voluntary programs initiated by local sportsmen.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is considering whether voluntary or regulatory initiatives are the best way to protect eagles, vultures and other scavengers from poisoning by lead bullets left in carcasses.
In Washington, lead shot is banned from hunting certain birds or in certain hunting areas. There is currently no law banning lead bullets for shotguns or rifles, which are used for bigger game hunting.
Since 2021, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has been a supporting partner with the North American Non-Lead Partnership, which was founded in Portland by Chris Parish and Leland Brown.
Last week, Parish and Brown updated the Commission on their work over the past few years.
They prioritize voluntary trainings and one-on-one relationships with hunters to move the needle on lead ammunition.
Too many governmental regulations, Brown said, can breed ill-will.
"The messenger that shares this information matters. Having this come from within the hunting community is important," he said. "Having it come from fellow hunters who understand the very specific concerns around ensuring not wounding animals accidentally and making sure that all of these other issues are addressed in a realistic and feasible way has to be part of the conversation."
Compared to three years ago, about a third more hunters in Oregon say they’re using lead-free bullets thanks to the partnership’s advocacy.
But hunters have also raised concerns about the performance of lead-free ammunition and competing political messaging around moving away from lead.
Even for those who want to buy lead-free ammunition, finding it in stores can be frustrating, and properly identifying non-lead bullets is deceptively difficult.
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has not made any movement towards introducing more regulations around lead ammunition, but some members expressed an urgency to protect wildlife from dangerous chemicals.
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Reporting by Doug Nadvornick, Scott Greenstone, Eilis O'Neill and Eliza Billingham.