ACTION NEEDED
Testify at the upcoming Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) Board meeting to urge the board to adopt a modified one-year spending growth target. Persistent opposition to the current 3%, five-year proposal is necessary to ensure hospitals’ concerns are addressed in the final spending growth target.
TIMING
Testify during public comments at the March 25 OHCA board meeting. If you plan on testifying, please notify Mark Farouk, vice president, state relations.
RESOURCES
BACKGROUND
In January, OHCA staff released a proposed 3% annual spending growth target for 2025-29; it would be non-enforceable in 2025 but in later years could result in performance improvement plans and financial penalties for hospitals that fail to meet the target. The OHCA board is required to finalize the initial target by June and may do so as early as its March 25 meeting or as late as its May 22 meeting. It is critical that hospital members weigh in on this target, which has wide-ranging ramifications for the health care field. Notably, OHCA’s mandate is twofold: to rein in spending growth, but without sacrificing quality of or access to health care. As proposed, the spending growth target would undoubtedly have a negative impact on health care statewide. For more information, visit CHA’s dedicated OHCA web page. Questions should be directed to Ben Johnson, vice president, policy, and Mark Farouk, vice president, state relations.