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. California’s hospitals stand ready to tackle this challenge through engagement with the Office of Health Care Affordability
CHA Issues Alert Ahead of OHCA Hearing
Earlier this week, CHA issued an alert urging members to testify at next week’s Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board meeting. With the board’s final decision on a spending target expected at either the April 24 or May 22 board meeting, it is crucial that hospital voices continue to be heard. The board is […]
Urge OHCA Board to Modify Spending Growth Target
As Office of Health Care Affordability Approaches First Target, Key Factors Continue to Be Ignored
With no action taken at the March board meeting of the Office of Health Care Affordability, the eight-member body has just two meetings left before it is legally required to set the first health care spending growth target in California’s history.
OHCA Board States Positions on the Spending Target, Without Taking a Vote
What’s happening: The Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board met on March 25 to consider the staff-proposed 3% statewide spending target and the related stakeholder feedback.
What else to know: While the board did not formally adopt the target, most board members expressed general comfort with the 3% proposal, with the possibility of moderate revisions. The final target will be adopted in April or May.
As OHCA Health Care Spending Target Nears, Questions Must Be Addressed
As early as next week, the Office of Health Care Affordability board could set a spending growth target for health care — one of California’s largest economic sectors and a pillar of the state’s vitality and strength.
Urge OHCA Board to Finalize One-Year, Modified Spending Growth Target
CHA Urges OHCA to Adopt One-Year, Modified Target
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.
CHA’s Advocacy Continues as OHCA Moves Toward Final Growth Target
What’s happening: As the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) inches closer to finalizing its first health care spending growth target, CHA and members continue to raise alarm bells on the proposal’s devastating impact, including testifying at this week’s OHCA board meeting.
What else to know: This month, CHA commented on the OHCA board’s January discussion of the 3% target proposal, OHCA’s new effort to measure hospital spending, and the proposed data collection rules.
Deadline Approaching for Comment on Growth Target Proposal
As early as next month, California’s Office of Health Care Affordability could set a statewide spending target (the current staff proposal is at 3%) for the state’s entire health care sector. Staff have proposed setting this target for the next five years, even though state law only requires that the initial, non-enforceable target for 2025 be set at this time.
OHCA to Finalize Data Collection Requirements in the Coming Weeks
What’s happening: This week, OHCA released a close-to-final draft regulation and supplemental guidance on the total health care expenditure data collection process, which contains few substantive changes from the prior draft version.
What else to know: Payers remain responsible for reporting the data under the revised guidance. CHA remains concerned about the lack of transparency and standardization and urges members to contact OHCA on its related spending target proposal using the template letter and talking points included in this week’s alert.