“You can’t go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ― C.S. Lewis
In four decades of advocating on behalf of hospitals, it’s hard to think of a more momentous occasion than what occurred last week here in California.
Within just a couple of days of each other, CHA both secured an agreement with the state’s leading labor unions to prevent a costly and dangerous ballot fight in November and received word that the next iteration of the Hospital Fee Program was approved by the federal government.
Independently, either one of these events would be noteworthy. Together, they inject a tremendous dose of critically important stability for California hospitals at a time when uncertainty and volatility have been dominant.
This did not happen by accident.
First there is the perseverance of your CHA team — those who were tasked with the ballot initiative efforts and those tapped to secure a favorable fee program outcome — both of which have spent countless days (and many, many nights) working to refine policy options, navigate political challenges, and sweating every single detail the whole time.
It would take too much time to thank everyone individually by name, but this was truly a group effort where the professionalism, expertise, and dedication of your association team shined.
Then there is the partnership we share with our regional associations, where the sharing of information, the connectivity to members, key policymakers and partners, and the political instinct and intuition that can only be developed at the local level were invaluable on both fronts.
And most important there is the California Hospital Association Board of Trustees, which was beyond generous with its time, beyond gracious with its trust, and beyond savvy with its guidance as we had to make multiple rapid decisions — often with evolving, imperfect, and incomplete information.
And, of course, there is the unity of California’s hospital field. Neither success would have been possible if you, the leaders of our state’s hospitals, were not committed to one another. Committed to standing together. Committed to taking a stand for what’s right for health care and the people you care for. Committed to not giving up in the face of extreme adversity.
I stand today proud of what we have done together and in awe of what can be done when we devote ourselves to a worthy cause.
Please take a moment to recognize what these two outcomes mean for hospital care in California and to recognize that they would not have been possible without each of you.
Today, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we continue the fight for the people and communities who rely on hospitals.
