What Kind of Health Care System Will We Have Left?
Health care — one of our most fundamental needs as human beings — is at an inflection point.
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OHCA’s Work Will ‘Devastate Hospitals,’ Lawmakers Tell HCAI Director
What’s happening: Last week, members of the Senate subcommittee that oversees the Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA’s) budget expressed deep concern with the agency’s work. Committee Chair Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) noted that, “At the end of the day, something has to give. Either [the hospitals] won’t make it and be penalized, or they have to cut services — and either way, the people who will pay are the patients.”
OHCA Board Ignores Hospitals’ Concerns, Approves Stricter Spending Targets for Seven ‘High-Cost’ Hospitals
What’s happening: At its April 22 meeting, the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board voted 5-0 to move forward with reduced targets for a handful of hospitals. All other hospitals remain subject to the 3.5% target for 2025, which ramps down to 3% by 2029.
OHCA Cuts Will Create Real Pain for Real People
On Tuesday, the state’s Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) Board voted 5-0 to drastically cut how much seven California hospitals can spend to care for patients; this comes on top of below-inflation spending cuts for all hospitals that OHCA had already put in place.
Engage Now: OHCA Could Decide Hospital Sector Targets on April 22
What’s happening: At its April 22 board meeting, the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board will review stakeholder feedback on staff’s recommended hospital sector spending targets and could adopt the proposal in its current, or a modified, form. CHA urges hospital representatives to submit letters in opposition by April 18 and attend the meeting, either in person or virtually, to provide public comment asking the board reject the proposed hospital sector target recommendations.
What else to know: The board has until June 1 to adopt any new targets for the 2026 calendar year — including for a hospital sector. If no action is taken this month, a decision could come at OHCA’s May 27 board meeting.
Key Deadline Approaching for OHCA’s ‘High Cost’ Hospital Proposal
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.What’s happening: Hospitals’ deadline for commenting on the Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA’s) proposed methodology to identify “high-cost” hospitals is rapidly approaching; letters are due April 11. What else to know: On April 2, CHA issued an Alert with resources to […]
OHCA Board Reviews Initial Feedback on Hospital Sector Target Proposal, But Persistent Hospital Engagement Is Needed
What’s happening: At the Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA’s) March 25 board meeting, the board discussed the hospital sector proposal and reviewed initial feedback from interviews with hospitals. While no final decisions or changes were made, the board signaled openness to reintroducing a limited exclusion for small hospitals.
What else to know: In written and verbal comments, CHA and hospital members pushed back against OHCA’s high-cost hospital proposal, finding it premature, based on anomalous data and biased methodologies — and certain to significantly harm access to high-quality hospital care in communities throughout California.
OHCA Poised to Set Troubling Precedent, Throttle Health Care Access
Time is running short.
CHA Argues OHCA’s Proposed Hospital Sector ‘Strains Credibility,’ Encourages Hospitals to Weigh In
What’s happening: On March 6, CHA sent a letter to the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) calling attention to the office’s flawed, prejudicial approach to creating a hospital sector.
What else to know: Over the coming weeks, hospitals must engage at every opportunity to ensure the OHCA board understands the devastating impact its actions will have on patient care. See CHA’s March 13 alert for details.
OHCA Faces Tough Questions from Lawmakers, Hospitals
What’s happening: In a March 3 hearing, members of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health pressed Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) leadership to answer questions on the impact its statewide and hospital-sector targets will have on patient care.
What else to know: During the hearing’s public comment portion, nearly 20 hospitals and health care organizations voiced their concerns with OHCA’s failure to account for the cost drivers and expenses that hospitals face and shared how these targets will negatively affect patient care.