Spokane, Wash., newspaper The Spokesman-Review reports of a difficult situation for management of Newport (Wash.) Hospital. The facility, located along the border with Idaho, is “feeling the pinch from an influx of people coming from outside Washington who, under state law, can receive free health care there.”
“Our margins are already very, very thin,” Newport Hospital interim CEO Justin Peters told the newspaper, adding that “charity care for our community is one thing, but having people come from other states and providing that charity care really puts a strain on our hospital.” He said the hospital experienced a 43% jump in charity care money spent from 2024 to 2025, with nearly half of that care going to out-of-state patients.
The newspaper writes that a proposed bill in the Washington Legislature would have limited nonemergency charity care to Washington residents, but the bill “was not pushed through due to some of the language and wording.”
Read the full Spokesman-Review article, which quotes other hospitals about the issue, here.
