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.
CHA Urges OHCA Board to Reject Draconian Penalties
What's happening: The Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA) board met on Wednesday and continued deliberations over the monetary penalties for violating the spending targets. The office also introduced draft regulations to implement Assembly Bill (AB) 1415 (Statutes of 2025), which expands OHCA’s authority to review certain types of health care market transactions.
Recording of OHCA ‘High-Cost’ Hospital List Reassessment Now Available
What’s happening: A recording of CHA's April 23 webinar on the Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA) planned reassessment of the “high-cost” hospital list is now available for members who many have missed it.
CHA Pushes Back Against OHCA Board’s Desire to Fine Its Way to Affordability
What’s happening: Yesterday, the Office of Health Care Affordability board convened to discuss financial penalties for exceeding the spending targets, a baseline analysis of hospital spending growth between 2022 and 2023, and updates for the cost and market impact review program.
CHA’s Two Sponsored Bills Make It Out of Assembly Health Committee
What’s happening: Despite the concerns of Chair Mia Bonta, both CHA-sponsored bills —Assembly Bill (AB) 1923 (Soria, D-Merced) and AB 2353 (Pacheco, D-Downey) — moved out of the Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday. AB 1923 would expand the Distressed Hospital Loan Program (DHLP) and AB 2353 would allow for additional cost analysis of proposed legislation and regulations...
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.
New Resources Allow Hospitals to See Where They Fall Under OHCA’s ‘High Cost’ Methodology
What’s happening: CHA has created a data tool to help members replicate calculations used by the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) to identify so-called “high-cost” hospitals and assess how close they may be to the threshold.
California Hospitals Denounce State Cuts to Health Care
SACRAMENTO (April 22, 2025) — “Today’s decision by the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) to impose deep cuts on seven hospitals will create alarming consequences for patient care,” said Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California Hospital Association. “These cuts are coming on top of below-inflation spending caps for all hospitals that OHCA has already put in place. Make no mistake — the hospital care Californians receive is now being decided by a handful of unelected people who are cutting billions of dollars from your health care.”
Hospitals Call Out Office of Health Care Affordability’s Flaws in Setting Limits on Health Care Spending
SACRAMENTO (March 26, 2025) — “The Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA’s) efforts to impose below-cost spending caps on hospitals —and call out 11 specific hospitals for even deeper cuts— is premature and without solid basis,” said Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California Hospital Association. “The decisions made by the OHCA Board will cap how much can be spent on health care for Californians — that means real pain for real people.”