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.
OHCA Must Protect Workforce Stability, CHA Argues Ahead of April 22 Board Meeting
What’s happening: Today, CHA submitted a letter to the Office of Health Care Affordability board urging it to account for all health care workers — not just those covered by collective bargaining agreements — in setting and adjusting the spending targets, or risk undermining broader workforce stability.
Setting the Record Straight: Another Misleading Commentary
A recent commentary from an academic whose primary source of funding is a national profit-focused insurance company takes unjust aim at hospitals and the vital care they provide to Californians throughout the state. In a piece published last week in CalMatters, “Bitter medicine: How California’s hospital bills end up depressing your take-home pay,” Glenn Melnick, the Blue Cross of California chair of healthcare finance and director […]
Continuing to Hold the Office of Health Care Affordability Accountable
“California hospitals will be facing severe funding losses.”
“If hospitals are starved for the funds they require to operate, they will be forced to cut back on services.”
“OHCA’s actions threaten the viability of the entire health care delivery system.”
These quotes from CHA’s latest legal filing in our lawsuit against the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) underscore what’s at stake for hospitals across California.
CHA Joins Lawmakers, Hospital Leaders at San Diego Health Care Roundtable
What’s happening: On March 20, CHA participated in a health care roundtable hosted by Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D‑Carlsbad) and Scripps Health. The event, which was held at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, brought together California lawmakers and health care leaders from the San Diego region to discuss key issues hospitals are facing.
OHCA Board Pushes for Reconsideration of High-Cost Hospital Designations
What’s happening: The Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board met on March 25, where it pushed the office to create a process to revise “high-cost” hospital determinations if based on faulty data. The board also deliberated over the process for providers to obtain adjustments to their spending targets related to the growth in non-supervisory organized labor costs.
Ahead of March 25 Meeting, CHA Presses OHCA Board to Adopt a Fair and Transparent Enforcement Process
What’s happening: Today, CHA submitted a letter to the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board, urging it to clearly articulate in regulation additional considerations that could justify an organization exceeding the spending growth cap — like investments in patient-centered care, baseline financial conditions, payer mix, and macroeconomic trends.
Leading with Honesty and Purpose on Affordability
Earlier this week, members of Congress pressed some of the nation’s top health care leaders, including Rick Pollack, President & CEO of the American Hospital Association and David Aizuss, MD, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the American Medical Association, about the role of health care providers in controlling health care costs.
CHA Alert: Action Needed on Distressed Hospital Loan Program, Hospital Mandates Bills
What’s happening: Earlier this week, CHA issued a dual alert asking members to sign on to coalition letters for its two sponsor bills: Assembly Bill (AB) 2353 (Pacheco, D-Downey), which would require an independent cost evaluation of mandates on hospitals, and AB 1923 (Soria, D-Merced), which would revive the Distressed Hospital Loan Program. For AB 2353, members should also submit a support letter highlighting previously imposed mandates that have caused the hospital to...
Affordability, Drug Pricing in Focus at Key AHA Meeting
Discussions at this week’s American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board 9 meeting will delve into several timely and weighty issues for hospitals in California and nationwide.
CHA Sets Record Straight at Joint Legislative Hearing on Affordability
What’s happening: On Wednesday, the Assembly and Senate Health Committees convened a joint hearing intended to focus on the impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on California’s health care system, rising costs, coverage losses, and potential state-level responses.