What's happening: The Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA) board met on Wednesday and continued deliberations over the monetary penalties for violating the spending targets. The office also introduced draft regulations to implement Assembly Bill (AB) 1415 (Statutes of 2025), which expands OHCA’s authority to review certain types of health care market transactions.
It’s been a little more than four months since commercial insurance company executives were summoned to Capitol Hill for a congressional hearing in which they were probed on care denials, profit-taking, consumer affordability, and more.
What’s happening: The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has launched a 30-day public comment period — closing June 20 — on the planned submission of a five-year renewal application for the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) Section 1915(b) Waiver, which is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2026.
What’s happening: CHA DataSuite issued a hospital-specific analysis of the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2027 Medicare long-term care hospital (LTCH) prospective payment system (PPS) proposed rule. The analysis is intended to show providers how Medicare fee-for-service payments may change from FFY 2026 to FFY 2027 based on the policies set forth in the proposed rule.
What’s happening: CHA DataSuite has issued a hospital-specific analysis of the final data for wage index and occupational mix. The analysis is intended to provide hospitals with a comparative review of the wage data that will be used to develop the upcoming federal fiscal year (FFY) 2027 Medicare hospital wage index.
What’s happening: On May 15, the state submitted the payment policies for the next iteration of the Hospital Fee Program (Program 9) to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This is the final piece needed for CMS to review the full application.
What's happening: Yesterday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule outlining changes to Medicaid supplemental payments, including managed care state-directed payments. This is some of the implementation rulemaking associated with the payment reductions Congress enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
What’s happening: All emergency departments (EDs) are encouraged to take part in the 2026 National Pediatric Readiness Program Assessment. This nationwide assessment, which is completed every five years, is open until May 30.
What’s happening: CHA DataSuite has released a hospital-specific analysis of the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2027 inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) based on the proposed rule.
What’s happening: CHA DataSuite has issued hospital-specific analyses of three prospective payment system proposed rules for federal fiscal year (FFY) 2027: inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPF), inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF), and skilled-nursing facilities (SNF). Analysis descriptions, which provide detailed information on the sources and methods, are available for the IPF, IRF, and SNF proposed rules.