What’s happening: In its formal comment letter submitted earlier this week to the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA), CHA urged the office to modify its 3%, five-year spending growth target proposal and instead adopt a one-year target that reflects key drivers of health care spending.
What else to know: OHCA must adopt its final proposal by June 1 — members should continue to engage with the board through public comment at its upcoming meetings; the next opportunity is March 25.
Ahead of the March 11 comment deadline, more than a dozen CHA members and coalition partners submitted comment letters urging the OHCA board to reconsider the proposed 3%, five-year spending growth target. CHA is grateful for this engagement, which was critical in ensuring the board understands the ramifications of its decision. CHA’s comment letter focused on the impact the spending target would have on patient care and proffered a new framework for consideration. CHA’s framework incorporates key drivers of health care costs (including inflation, population aging, technology and labor, and major policy impacts) and could be used to either develop an alternative target or assess the reasonableness of a proposal.
Now that the comment period has closed, the board will consider feedback received and release a final spending target. Statute requires OHCA to finalize an initial, non-enforceable spending growth target for 2025 by June 1; this announcement could come as early as the board’s March 25 meeting or as late as its May 22 meeting. In the interim, CHA will continue to work with the office and its board to ensure the final target is sustainable, achievable, and ultimately supportive of patient care. Continued engagement from our members, including in-public comment at the March 25 board meeting, is needed now more than ever to secure changes to the proposed spending target.
