Hearing Set for CHA-Sponsored Seismic Relief Bill
What’s happening: CHA’s sponsored legislation that would provide relief from California’s 2030 seismic construction mandates passed the Senate Health Committee last week on an 11-0 vote. Senate Bill (SB) 1432 is now set for a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on May 6.
What else to know: The chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee is the primary author of the bill, Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Merced).
CMS Finalizes Skilled-Nursing Facility Staffing Standards
What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule establishing new staffing standards for long-term care facilities, including skilled-nursing facilities (SNFs) and SNFs operated as distinct-part units of acute care hospitals.
What else to know: The regulations are effective June 21. Compliance with overall ratios is required beginning May 2026.
Submit Medicare Physician Attestation Statements by May 3
What’s happening: As a condition of participation, Medicare-certified hospitals must complete attestation and acknowledgment of physicians with newly granted admitting privileges in the previous calendar year.
What else to know: Attestation statements for 2023 should be submitted by May 3.
CMS Revises Informed Consent Guidance for Hospitals
What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its Hospital Interpretive Guidelines for Informed Consent.
What else to know: The guidance clarifies the need to obtain informed consent from patients to perform important surgical tasks, and sensitive or invasive procedures, as well as examinations outside of the medically necessary procedure.
HCAI, OSHPD Release Design Guide for Planning and Preparing for Disasters
What’s happening: The Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) have released a new Design Guide for Planning and Preparing for Disasters to assist hospitals in planning, preparing, and responding to disasters.
What else to know: The 102-page document includes coordinating references and illustrations supporting hospitals’ obligation to save lives and prevent injury or property damage in their emergency response.
CHA Translates Required Patient Language Assistance Taglines
What’s happening: Regulations recently adopted by the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) under the Hospital Fair Pricing Policies Law require hospitals to provide “taglines” on patient documents in several different languages.
What else to know: The taglines inform patients that language assistance services are available and how to access them. CHA has included a tagline sheet with translations in 18 languages.
AHA Will Host Webinar on Hospital Price Transparency Requirements
What’s happening: The American Hospital Association (AHA) will host a members-only webinar on April 10 at noon (PT) to discuss new hospital price transparency machine-readable format requirements.
What else to know: CHA encourages AHA members to register.
CMS Updates Hospital Guidance for Texting Patient Info
What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated guidance for hospitals and critical access hospitals related to texting patient information.
What else to know: Hospitals should use a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant secure texting platform that complies with Medicare and Medicaid conditions of participation.
Changes Finalized to Substance Use Disorder Record Sharing Rules
What’s happening: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued long-awaited regulations implementing changes to requirements for sharing substance use disorder (SUD) patient data.
What else to know: The CHA-supported regulations are intended to better align SUD record-sharing rules with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements.
CMS-Compliant Health Equity Programs
Join this webinar to learn more and ask questions of experts on hand to help you through this process.