What’s happening: On Wednesday, CHA issued an alert asking members to call their state senator and ask them to vote “no” on Assembly Bill 2575 (Ortega, D-Hayward). The bill would protect health care workers from corrective action or discipline when they override an artificial intelligence tool, even if the decision results in patient harm or violates hospital policies and procedures.  

What else to know: Members are asked to make calls by July 31; the bill is set to be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Aug. 3. It is vital that lawmakers understand that this bill would not achieve its intended goals.  

What’s happening: The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced that health professional storage areas (HPSAs) placed in a “proposed for withdrawal” status will maintain their current HPSA status through approximately July 1, 2027.

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What’s happening: CHA has filed an amicus brief in support of the clinics’ lawsuit that challenges Prop 44, which would impose arbitrary and extreme restrictions on how federally qualified health centers can spend money on patient care and community services. The lawsuit against the SEIU-UHW-sponsored initiative seeks to keep it off the November 2026 ballot.

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What’s happening: CHA DataSuite has issued a hospital-specific analysis of the inpatient quality program measure trends with updated Care Compare data released in first quarter 2026.  

What else to know: The analysis is designed to provide hospitals with a comparative review of the quality data collected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and published over time on Care Compare. The measures updated in this first quarter 2026 Care Compare data release are HCAHPS, hospital-acquired infections, sepsis, and star ratings.  

To help hospitals prioritize their quality improvement efforts, the “Bottom Measures” worksheet compares all measures in the analysis and identifies the three areas with the most opportunity for improvement.  

For detailed information on the sources and methods, see the analysis description.  

What’s happening: Last week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released All Facilities Letter (AFL) 26-19, which offers guidance on Ebola preparedness for hospitals.

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What is happening: The Department of Health Care Services has published All Plan Letters (APLs) updating policies for Medi-Cal managed care plan (MCP) coverage of skilled nursing, subacute care, and intermediate care facility services.

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A couple of weeks ago, the American Hospital Association stepped forward into its next chapter with the appointment of Steve Walsh as its next President and Chief Executive Officer. Walsh takes AHA’s reins following the announcement late last year that my friend and current President and CEO Rick Pollack would be retiring after nearly 50 years with the organization. 

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“You can’t go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ― C.S. Lewis 

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What’s happening: Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved the most critical components of California’s 2025 Hospital Fee Program (Program 9).  

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What’s happening: This week, Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Alameda) pulled Assembly Bill (AB) 225, her authored bill that would have prohibited hospitals from charging facility fees for certain services provided in off-campus outpatient departments, from the July 1 Senate Health Committee agenda.  

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