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.
As CHA Continues Push for Collaboration, OHCA Indicates Openness to Corrected Hospital Financial Data
What’s happening: The Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA) board met on Jan. 28 to discuss several issues, including enforcement of the spending targets and whether to consider resubmissions of hospital data for the purposes of defining “high-cost” hospitals and assessing compliance with the spending targets.
OHCA Advisory Committee Solicits Applications for New Committee Members, Discusses Spending Target Enforcement at Latest Meeting
What’s happening: The Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) is seeking applications to serve on its advisory committee, which provides input to the office on topics ranging from the spending target methodology and sectors to workforce and quality standards. CHA encourages members to apply by the March 31 deadline, as input from health care experts is critical to ensuring OHCA’s policies support patient care.
CHA Pushes Back on State’s Effort to Prematurely End OHCA Legal Challenge
What’s happening: On Jan. 15, CHA submitted its latest legal filing in the case against the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA). In December, OHCA’s attorneys asked the court to dismiss CHA’s lawsuit, alleging CHA and its members lack standing and did not sufficiently plead their case in the original challenge. CHA’s filing objects to OHCA’s request and demonstrates that the OHCA decisions on spending targets and related matters are ripe for judicial...
Issue Brief: Bureaucrat-Run Health Care Isn’t the Solution for California’s High Costs
OHCA must engage every sector of health care in making data-driven decisions that improve care access, quality, and equity.
Key Messages: Bureaucrat-Run Health Care Isn’t the Solution for California’s High Costs
The Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) — the state’s response to affordability challenges — is on a path that will debilitate California’s health care system.
Infographic: 39,000 Jobs, $40 Billion on the Line as Bureaucrats Endanger CA Health Care
OHCA Board Continues Aggressive Enforcement Planning, Signals Spending Targets Won’t be Changed
What’s happening: The Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA’s) board met on December 17 to discuss several issues, including enforcement of and updated data related to the spending targets, as well as the office’s recent work to develop a methodology for measuring hospital spending.
Government Bureaucrats Are Putting Access to Health Care at Risk
CHA has developed messages for members’ use related to the lawsuit against the Office of Health Care Affordability.
Toolkit: Tell Lawmakers – Stop Health Care Cuts That Harm Patients
OHCA must engage every sector of health care in making data-driven decisions that improve care access, quality, and equity.
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.