The challenges that California’s hospital field will face in the coming year have never been greater, as the massive federal health care cuts from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act begin to materialize.
As former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra continues to dominate in the polls less than a month from Election Day, CHA is taking every opportunity to build connections with him and his team ahead of a critical period for health care policy in California.
This week, Steve Walsh took the reins as the new President & CEO of the American Hospital Association — an organization with which CHA has long enjoyed a fruitful and collaborative relationship.
While CHA continues to press in Washington, D.C., for approval of the final component — fee-for-service payment mechanisms — of Hospital Fee Program 9, we are also pushing the state for timely completion of submission for the next iteration, Program 10.
Last week, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Joseph M. Quinn ruled that CHA’s lawsuit against the Office of Health Care Affordability can proceed and that the court will rule on the merits of the case.
In the waning hours of the 2026 state legislative session, a bill that makes care less safe for hospital patients squeaked through by a single vote.
Earlier this week, the California State Legislature concluded its 2026 legislative session — nine months of policy and political work where lawmakers determined the outcomes of more than 3,000 individual bills.
There is positive movement on new state regulations and standards to strengthen oversight of commercial insurance companies and compel them to provide the health care services people need. This comes after years of continuous CHA advocacy with the Department of Managed Health Care, calling attention to the practices of many profit-minded insurance companies that were neglecting the needs of Californians.
Headed into the final couple of weeks of this year’s state legislative session, CHA is focused on a key piece of legislation related to artificial intelligence (AI).
Our work continues to educate state policymakers about Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) policies that risk access to vital health care services.
