What’s happening: This week, CHA commented on the Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA’s) draft regulations implementing the nonsupervisory organized labor cost adjustment to the spending targets. In the letter, CHA stresses that the proposal “falls short of the Legislature’s overarching goals and directives, fails the office’s policy imperative to treat all workers equitably, and creates a policy that is largely unworkable given the realities of collective bargaining.”
(more…)CHA Urges OHCA to Protect All Health Care Workers
HQIP Offers Support for Hospital Equity Reports, Due Sept. 30
What’s happening: California hospitals are required to submit an annual Hospital Equity Report to the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) by Sept. 30.
(more…)DHCS Releases Hospital Fee Program 9 Draft Fee & Payment Schedule
What’s happening: With the major federal approvals of Hospital Fee Program 9 on June 26, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) can begin assessing the fee and implementing the managed care portion of the program. While federal approval of the fee-for-service (FFS) payment components is still pending and expected to be received in the coming weeks, DHCS will move forward with the managed care fee and payment cycles in the meantime.
(more…)CARB to Host Public Workshop on Greenhouse Gas Reporting
What’s happening: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will hold a virtual public workshop to share new details on forthcoming regulations implementing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions reporting requirements, authorized under Senate Bill 253, for 2027 and beyond.
(more…)Secretary of State Certifies Primary Election Results
What’s happening: Last month’s primary election results have been certified by the Secretary of State, setting the stage for a pivotal November election.
(more…)Kaiser FEMA ICS 100, ICS 200 and ICS 700 Course
Mandated Training on the National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System for Hospitals and Health Care Systems
ICS Web Training Course (ICS-100, ICS-200 & IS-700)
The Hospital Preparedness Program requires hospitals that receive grant funding to train their leadership in the National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System. This training is required for hospital emergency program managers and for personnel who are likely to assume an incident command position as described in the hospital’s emergency management plan.
(more…)CHA Alert: Urge State Senators to Vote No on AI Bill That Would Undermine Patient Safety
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.
HRSA Delays Withdrawal of Health Professional Shortage Area Designations
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.
(more…)CHA Files Amicus Brief in Lawsuit to Keep Clinic Initiative Off the Ballot
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.
(more…)Q1 2026 Inpatient Quality Program Measure Trends Analysis Released
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.