Washington Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians v. State of Washington, Health Care Authority

September 22, 2011 The Washington Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians has filed a lawsuit against the state Medicaid plan over a new policy limiting Medicaid beneficiaries to three visits to an emergency department for non-emergency care. The new policy went into effect October 1, 2011. The limit does not apply to children in foster care, visits for mental health diagnoses or detoxification, or to visits in which the person is admitted or is delivered by emergency technicians, by ambulance, or police. For all others, for the fourth and subsequent non-emergency visits, the emergency department is . . .