What’s happening: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services leadership has received commitments from multiple insurance companies to streamline prior authorization processes by cutting red tape, accelerating care decisions, and enhancing transparency for patients and providers.
“I would also say to anybody who’s designed their business model depending on federal government funding: Get a new model.” – Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)
“People say, ‘Well, my hospital is not doing very well.’ Give me the financial statements. I’ll be glad to go through them.” – Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.)
What’s happening: On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed, largely along party lines and with Vice President JD Vance casting the tiebreaking vote, its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) — making even deeper cuts to Medicaid than the House of Representatives’ version that passed just a few weeks ago. California Sens. Adam Schiff (D) and Alex Padilla (D) voted against the legislation.
What’s happening: On June 23, the Office of Administrative Law approved the Emergency Medical Services Authority’s (EMSA’s) emergency regulations to implement Assembly Bill (AB) 40 (2023), establishing standards, protocols, and tools to improve ambulance patient offload times (APOTs) within California’s emergency medical services system.
What’s happening: On June 30, CHA submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in support of data collection and audit proposals that would increase Medicare Advantage Organization (MAO) transparency and accountability, ensuring appropriate and timely access to Medicare services.
What’s happening: On July 1, the Department of Health Care Services submitted an amended and completed directed payment preprint for Hospital Quality Assurance Fee Program 9 to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
What’s happening: On Wednesday, Assembly Bill (AB) 1415 cleared the Senate Health Committee with vital amendments striking provisions that would have empowered the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) to collect data from and set unique spending targets on health systems in addition to individual hospitals, other providers, and payers.
What’s happening: The Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) recently published a list of hospitals that are required to submit a health equity report to the department by Sept. 30, as mandated by Assembly Bill 1204 (2021).
What’s happening: DataSuite issued hospital-specific analyses based on the Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program, Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program, and quality measure trends.
What’s happening: State lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom this week reached a tentative agreement on the 2025-26 state budget, concluding weeks of negotiations.