Affordability

About Affordability

Health care is a basic human need, one that Californians rely on to live, grow, and prosper. Unfortunately, the cost of care has become too high for many working families. For years, California’s hospitals have made headway toward controlling costs. To ensure care for every Californian, the entire health care field must tighten its belt — insurance companies, physicians, labor unions, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and more.

Improving affordability is a priority for California hospitals — but with nearly two-thirds of health care spending occurring outside of hospitals, solving this challenge will take a combined effort from the entire health care system. To move toward our shared goals of affordable, equitable, and high-quality health care, hospitals work closely with the Office of Health Care Affordability.

Ahead of Final 2025 OHCA Board Meeting, CHA Highlights Office’s Key Missteps

What’s happening: This week, CHA submitted a letter to Health Care Affordability Board Chair Kim Johnson, calling out extensive shortcomings in the office’s recent report on Monterey County hospital prices and asking the office to look at all the factors influencing health care affordability – including commercial insurance companies’ role in driving up costs.  

CHA Condemns Flawed Report as OHCA Board Returns Its Focus to Monterey Hospitals

What’s happening: The Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA) board convened on Nov. 19 to discuss several items, most notably its newly released Investigative Study of Hospital Market Competition in Monterey County. CHA voiced deep concerns with the one-sided study and urged the office to course-correct to restore confidence that regulated entities will be treated fairly. 

2025 Legislative Wrap-up

Don’t miss CHA’s upcoming  webinar — your essential guide to navigating new health care laws and regulations. This interactive session is designed to give you a clear, actionable understanding of the latest legislative updates that could impact your operations. Our expert panel will cover key 2024 legislation, highlight crucial deadlines, and answer your pressing questions, ensuring you're well-prepared for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

OHCA Board Continues Enforcement Discussion, Fails to Clarify Process

What’s happening: The Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board convened on Oct. 28 and continued the spending target enforcement discussion that began in July. The meeting focused on waivers from enforcement and the first two steps of the enforcement process (technical assistance and public testimony).  

Key Priorities for 2026 Shaping Up

As your association looks to the coming year to advance policies that support the critical services California hospitals provide, three key areas are coming into sharper focus: 

Courts Must Intervene to Protect Californians’ Health Care

Yesterday, CHA took a critical step to push back on actions taken by the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) that are threatening access to care, putting health care workers’ jobs in jeopardy, impeding efforts to improve health equity, and risking the quality of care Californians receive. 

2025 Hospital Finance & Reimbursement Conference

What’s happening: On Nov. 3-4, California hospital finance experts will gather at CHA’s members-only Hospital Finance & Reimbursement Conference to examine the fiscal impact of state and federal regulations and policies on hospitals.