What’s happening: At its April 22 board meeting, the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board will review stakeholder feedback on staff’s recommended hospital sector spending targets and could adopt the proposal in its current, or a modified, form. CHA urges hospital representatives to submit letters in opposition by April 18 and attend the meeting, either in person or virtually, to provide public comment asking the board reject the proposed hospital sector target recommendations.
What else to know: The board has until June 1 to adopt any new targets for the 2026 calendar year — including for a hospital sector. If no action is taken this month, a decision could come at OHCA’s May 27 board meeting.
This month, CHA submitted two letters in opposition to OHCA’s hospital sector target proposal:
- The first letter asks OHCA to withdraw its deeply flawed proposal, which unfairly targets a single class of providers, comes before OHCA has done the necessary groundwork, relies on unsound methodologies and anomalous data, is inconsistent with key aspects of state law, and would endanger access to health care in communities across California.
- The second letter asks OHCA to withdraw its proposed definition of a hospital sector and return to sector development according to the statutory deadlines — and under a more comprehensive and impartial process.
Also at the April 22 meeting, the board will discuss potential updates to OHCA’s methodology for measuring hospital spending growth over time, the cost and market impact review program, quality and equity performance measurement, and the behavioral health investment benchmark.
