Today, CHA member hospitals participated in a lobby action day in Sacramento to encourage legislators to ask the administration to reset the calculation of Proposition 55 funds. During the event, 20 hospital leaders met with key legislators and their staff, urging them to support the voters’ intent and direct crucial health care funding to Medi-Cal.
Yesterday, CHA launched a new month-long social media campaign — directed at lawmakers in California — related to the ongoing issue of health care affordability. The launch included a special video message from Carmela Coyle, CHA President & CEO, which highlights the many factors that contribute to rising health care costs.
This week, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) shared four approval letters, dated March 18, from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Hospitals should share the relevant letters, linked here, with their accounting firms:
Two-plan counties
County-organized health system counties
Geographic managed care counties
Rural expansion counties
CHA has submitted comments to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on its proposed rule implementing the Veterans Community Care Program, which will replace the Veterans Choice Program as required by the MISSON Act of 2018.
CHA has begun widely sharing — via email and social media — a video of 2019 Board Chair Cal Knight, president & CEO of John Muir Health. In the video, Knight talks about the challenges and opportunities facing California’s hospitals over the next year, and touches on many of our priorities — including coverage, access, and behavioral health.
Earlier this week, CHA sent an Advocacy Alert to hospital leaders about Senate Bill 227 (Leyva, D-Chino), a bill that would create significant penalties for hospitals that do not meet nurse staffing ratios. CHA urges hospital leaders to contact their representatives about this harmful bill, which would increase costs without providing any benefit to patients.
Both the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) have issued their March 2019 reports to Congress, based on recommendations approved at their January meetings. The MedPAC report evaluates Medicare payment issues, while the MACPAC report recommends — among other items — that if planned Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) cuts proceed, they should be phased-in to give states and hospitals more time to respond.
CHA will host a Lobby Action Day on April 2 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to provide members an opportunity to share their support for Senate Bill 758 (Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge), a bill that will be amended to give hospitals the flexibility they need to tailor post-disaster care to meet the unique needs of their communities.
CHA sent a letter to the California congressional delegation this week, urging support of the Resident Physician Shortage Act of 2019 (H.R. 1763), which takes steps to reduce nationwide physician shortages by increasing the number of Medicare-supported residency positions.
Wildfires. Mudslides. Floods. Mass shootings. These once rare or infrequent events have become regular occurrences, and no two disasters are ever the same. Now more than ever, hospitals must reevaluate our procedures and redefine preparation.
