What’s happening: The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has until March 13 to submit a revised 2025 Hospital Quality Assurance Fee Program application to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), following questions CMS raised about the program’s size.
Federal lawmakers are back in Washington, D.C., this week with just over three weeks left to finish funding the government before current spending laws run out on Jan. 30.
What’s happening: Summaries of the calendar year (CY) 2026 home health prospective payment system (PPS) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) PPS final rules are available for CHA members.
What’s happening: The Medical Board of California has distributed its annual notice reminding prescribers that, under federal law, certain authorized practitioners may dispense a three-day supply of Schedule II medications in emergency situations in order to initiate maintenance or detoxification treatment.
What’s happening: A summary of the calendar year (CY) 2026 physician fee schedule (PFS) final rule is available for CHA members.
What’s happening: At its quarterly meeting last week, the Commission on Emergency Medical Services reviewed ongoing implementation challenges related to Assembly Bill (AB) 40’s ambulance patient offload time (APOT) requirements, under which hospitals must submit APOT reduction protocols annually.
“We all get the exact same 365 days. The only difference is what we do with them.” — Hillary DePiano
What’s happening: The Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA’s) board met on December 17 to discuss several issues, including enforcement of and updated data related to the spending targets, as well as the office’s recent work to develop a methodology for measuring hospital spending.
What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the contract year 2027 proposed rule for Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D plans.
What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has revised Appendix A of the State Operations Manual to include new interpretive guidelines and survey processes.