Gregoire suspends plan to limit emergency room visits

A plan by the state Medicaid program that would stop paying for any so-called “non-emergency” ER visits that was slated to go into effect on Sunday has been delayed by governor Christine Gregoire, pending the outcome of ongoing budget negotiations in the state legislature.

Governor Gregoire suspended the plan on Friday pending the outcome of budget negotiations and because of growing legislative support for a less drastic alternative.

Pressed by a shrinking budget, the changes proposed by Medicaid would have blocked payment of ER visits for hundreds of conditions for both adults and children.

Doctors fighting the plan argue it would shift costs to hospitals and ER doctors and deny care to people with real emergencies.

They’re pressing lawmakers to adopt an alternative plan that scraps the original list of “non-emergency” conditions and focuses on case management of frequent ER users, narcotic controls and patient education.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.