The Stranger

Bots are denying Medicare claims in Washington at a “staggering” rate. The program, which launched in six states in January, is called the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction program, aka WISeR. Ironic! The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expected it to weed out between 10 percent and 22.5 percent of claims, but in […] The post Slog AM: Seattle Teachers Approve New Contract, Medicare Bots Are Denying Too Many Claims, and Ed Sheeran Is Over appeared first on The Stranger.

All summer long, if you walked around Seattle’s Stadium District during the day you probably heard the sounds of the labor movement at work—chants and exclamations from the striking unionized employees at Hilton’s Embassy Suites hotel picketing their employer for better wages and working conditions. Things are quieter now. After an 85-day work stoppage, workers […] The post Suite Deal appeared first on The Stranger.

Dear Readers: I’m on vacation — second and last week — and will be back with new columns next week. Please enjoy this selection of letters from three previously published columns in the meantime. — Dan I was raised in a religious home and didn’t lose my virginity until the embarrassing age of 26. I […] The post Married People appeared first on The Stranger.

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is rolling out a plan to tackle gun violence by better integrating city departments and maintaining services for youth. The announcement comes after weeks of relentless criticism of the city’s public safety track record by local corporate media and a slew of big businesses following the Bite of Seattle mass shooting […] The post Mayor Katie Wilson Presents Gun Violence Prevention Plan appeared first on The Stranger.

Two people financing efforts to stop a millionaires’ income tax and to ban transgender girls from girls’ sports are also financially backing the Center Square, a conservative national news operation with Washington State reporters covering those same measures. Let’s Go Washington has three measures on November’s ballot—to repeal a new state millionaires’ income tax, to ban […] The post Washington’s Republican News Site Gets Money from the Conservative Group Funding Anti-Trans Initiatives appeared first on The Stranger.