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.
Hospitals Must Submit Labor Data By Nov. 16 for Potential Spending Cap Adjustments
What’s happening: Hospitals have only a short window to ensure that their non-supervisory organized labor costs are reflected in the spending target to which they will be held accountable.
In Letter to Lawmakers, OHCA Dodges Tough Questions and Confirms Hospitals’ Concerns
What’s happening: The Office of Health Care Affordability this week responded to a letter authored by Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) and signed by dozens of others asking key questions on the enforcement process.
OHCA Releases Penalty Regulations, Kicking Off Final Advocacy Opportunity
What’s happening: On Oct. 9, the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) published draft regulations outlining the process by which it would enforce its spending caps, including rules for determining which entities will be subject to performance improvement plans and penalties, as well as how penalties would be calculated.
OHCA Releases Organized Labor Adjustment Regulations, Data Submission Template
What’s happening: Last week, the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) published proposed emergency regulations for adjusting providers' spending targets based on nonsupervisory organized labor costs, known as NOLA.
OHCA Board Acknowledges Hospital Data Volatility, Weighs Combined Hospital Spending Measure
What’s happening: At its Sept. 23 meeting, the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board reviewed a proposal to combine hospitals' inpatient and outpatient spending growth into a single measure for each payer. The board also, for the first time, publicly examined the volatility in the hospital-reported revenue data OHCA uses to measure hospital performance against...
CHA Letter Calls out Lack of Hospital Perspective Shared with OHCA Board
What's happening: Prior to its next meeting on Sept. 23, CHA submitted a comment letter to the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) calling attention to the fact that key hospital information — gathered at a July workshop and submitted in 43 hospital letters ahead of OHCA's comment deadline — was summarily disregarded before the...
Hospitals’ Battle to Protect Access to Care Moves Forward
A key ruling this week in San Francisco Superior Court marks critical progress toward protecting the patient care that is increasingly jeopardized by the actions of the state Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA).
OHCA Enforcement and Penalties: Where Things Stand and How to Prepare
In Approving Penalty Structure, OHCA Jeopardizes Patient Care
What’s happening: After the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board voted yesterday to approve astronomical financial penalties against hospitals it deems non-compliant with its caps on spending growth, CHA immediately issued a media statement reiterating hospitals’ strident opposition and highlighting new research showing the unintended consequences of similar efforts in other states.
Dozens of Lawmakers Sign Letter Pressing OHCA to Explain Its Work
What’s happening: This week, Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) submitted to the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) a letter, cosigned by 25 other lawmakers, that asks pointed questions about OHCA’s work to date – in particular, how its efforts to control affordability will preserve access to care.