CHA News

CHA Releases Special Report on Impact of Medi-Cal Cuts on Beneficiary Access to Hospital-Based SNFs; CHA Meets With CMS

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CHA has released a Special Report analyzing the effects of the proposed Medi-Cal cuts included in the Budget Act of 2011, signed by Governor Brown earlier this year, on patient access to hospital-based skilled-nursing-facilities (SNFs).
CHA presented the Special Report during a conference call with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) officials Diane Heffron, director, and Kristin Fan, deputy director, from the CMS Office of Financial Management.
According to the report, which includes research data from Avalere Health, the Medi-Cal cuts will

CHA Releases New Publication on Consent Principles and Advance Directives

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CHA has published a new publication that covers the basic principles of patient consent for health care treatment. The Principles of Consent and Advance Directives handbook explains why and when consent is necessary, who may give consent, how consent for minors is different, and procedures that require special consent. It also describes hospitals’ obligations when dealing with complicated issues like advance health care directives, California’s POLST form, refusal of treatment and end-of-life decisions.

CMS Announces New Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced this week a new Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration designed to provide states with more flexibility and resources to care for Medicaid beneficiaries with mental illnesses.
The demonstration provides up to $75 million in federal matching funds to states over three years, as authorized by the Affordable Care Act, to help care for Medicaid patients (ages 21 through 64) with psychiatric emergencies, in private inpatient psychiatric facilities with 17 or more beds.
CMS is now accepting applications from st

CHA Releases DataSuite Reports on OPPS Proposed Rule

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CHA released hospital-specific DataSuite reports this week to member hospitals on the financial impact of the Medicare outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) proposed rule for calendar year (CY) 2012.
The analyses are intended to show hospitals how their outpatient payments will change from one year to the next due to the policies set forth in the proposal. Under the proposed rule, California hospital outpatient payments would increase by 0.8 percent over CY 2011 rates.
CHA will submit comments, due Aug. 30, to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

CHA Requests Information From CMS Regarding Medi-Cal Cuts

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CHA submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request this week to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Donald Berwick, MD, regarding California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) State Plan Amendments (SPAs) 11-009 and 11-010.

CHA Meets With CMS Administrator Berwick in Washington, D.C.

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CHA joined 25 members of the Alliance for Patient Care, a coalition of health care providers, health plans and patient advocates, for several meetings in Washington, D.C., this week to urge the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reject California’s proposed cuts to Medi-Cal.
CHA President/CEO C. Duane Dauner and Marcia Hall, CEO of Sharp Coronado Hospital and Healthcare Center, met with CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, MD, and CMS Deputy Administrator Cindy Mann for more than an hour.

CHA Comments on SEC Proposal

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CHA submitted comments on February 18th to SEC. CHA urges SEC to clarify that all hospital governing board members, and employees who seek bond financing from state or local authorities, are exempt from the registration requirement or that a clear exclusion be applied.

Proposed Rule on Patient Notification

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On February 2, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a proposed rule that would require certain Medicare-certified providers and suppliers to notify their Medicare patients in writing of their right to file a written complaint with a Quality Improvement Organization.