What’s happening: As of Jan. 1, hospital emergency departments (EDs) have a clear pathway for Medi-Cal reimbursement for behavioral health visits under CHA-sponsored Assembly Bill (AB) 1316 (2024). In a memo to members, CHA provides guidance to hospitals on the new requirements and their obligations for stabilizing or transferring individuals in EDs experiencing a mental health crisis.
A report released earlier this week by the well-respected and nonpartisan RAND Corp. underscores an alarming fact that hospital leaders have been saying for years: The viability of hospital-based emergency care is at risk after facing epidemics, a pandemic, increased patient acuity and complexity, and unsustainable declines in payment.
What’s happening: Following the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) fourth quarter (Q4) 2024 data release, CHA DataSuite has issued a hospital-specific analysis of the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) margins that show its trends from federal fiscal year (FFY) 2014 through FFY 2023. What else to know: Approximately 93% of hospitals provided their FFY 2023 […]
What’s happening: To assist hospitals in preparing for licensing and relicensing surveys — as well as making changes to their licenses, bed capacities, or services — CHA has created a web page that makes related resources easily accessible for hospital members.
What else to know: The resource page includes the Licensing and Relicensing Survey Tool, General Entrance Conference List, Relicensing Survey Guidance materials, and more.
What’s happening: On March 31, California State Assemblymember Joe Patterson recognized Marshall Medical Center CEO Siri Nelson, who also serves as CHA’s board chair, as the 5th Assembly District’s El Dorado County Woman of the Year.
What else to know: In the press release, Patterson commended Nelson’s commitment to ensuring residents have quality health care. “Under her leadership, we have seen expanded innovative healthcare services in our community, in addition to numerous new career opportunities for residents,” he said.
What’s happening: On April 4, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued an All Facilities Letter (AFL 25-14), which announced that the department is implementing a paperless process to communicate late payment penalty notices for Center for Health Care Quality health care facility licensing fees.
What else to know: Beginning May 15, CDPH’s current practice — mailing a paper copy of the late payment penalty notice to the licensee — will change to a paperless process: CDPH’s Revenue Collection Unit will email the notice to the facility using the licensee email address reported to CDPH. If no licensee email address is on file, the unit will email the notice to the facility’s general contact email address reported to CDPH.
What’s happening: The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is holding the first meeting of the Proposition (Prop) 35 “Protect Access to Health Care Act” Stakeholder Advisory Committee on April 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (PT). This meeting is open to the public, and registration for virtual attendance is open.
What else to know: In November 2024, voters approved the Protect Access to Health Care Act of 2024 (Prop 35), which will deliver significant resources to providers who care for Californians covered by Medi-Cal (as much as $1.4 billion is expected to support hospitals in 2025 and 2026). The committee will advise and make recommendations to the department on implementing these Prop 35 payments. More details can be found on the DHCS website.
What’s happening: CHA and the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists (CSHP) are calling on pharmacy professionals to join the movement for substantive change in pharmacy practice through their partnership with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ (ASHP) Practice Advancement Initiative (PAI) — and joining the movement begins with taking the California Hospital Survey.
What else to know: Originally launched in 2010, PAI has helped pharmacists across diverse practice settings implement local changes to improve patient care — and ASHP is bolstering these efforts by launching PAI 2030. In PAI 2030, ASHP has introduced 59 updated recommendations aimed at enhancing medication use, expanding the roles of pharmacists and technicians, and embracing emerging technologies.
What’s happening: On March 28, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) submitted a final draft of the Hospital Quality Assurance Fee (HQAF) program 9 fee and payment model to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). An internal, members-only version is available for members to review.
What else to know: The model should be considered a draft until the state receives official CMS approval, which is expected to take six to nine months. Learn more about the 2025 HQAF program 9 — including a brief history, a summary of changes, and the future landscape of the program — in our members-only webinar on April 7 at 9 a.m. (PT).
What’s happening: Payments for the Hospital Quality Assurance Fee program 8 directed payment are due to the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) by April 8.