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.
AB 1415 Passes Senate Health Committee Stripped of Troubling Provisions
What’s happening: On Wednesday, Assembly Bill (AB) 1415 cleared the Senate Health Committee with vital amendments striking provisions that would have empowered the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) to collect data from and set unique spending targets on health systems in addition to individual hospitals, other providers, and payers.
OHCA Report Confirms Hospitals Aren’t Primary Drivers of Health Care Costs
Earlier this month, the Office of Health Care Affordability delivered its first health care spending report, an annual release intended to inform both policymakers and the public about California’s health care spending trends over time.
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.
Insurers’ Admin Costs and Profits Ballooned 25% in 2023, OHCA Analysis Finds
What’s happening: At its June 9 meeting, the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board discussed the office’s first baseline report, which highlights that total health care expenditures grew by 8.2% (from $378 billion to $409 billion) from 2022 to 2023.
CHA Presses OHCA Board to Reconsider Targets at June 9 Meeting
What’s happening: Ahead of next week’s Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board meeting, CHA submitted comments urging the board to reevaluate both its statewide spending cap (set at 3.5% for 2026) and its “high-cost” hospital spending cap (set at 1.8% for 2026).
There Are Ways to Make Care More Affordable, But California Isn’t Making Those Choices
A recent piece in the Orange County Register that took a deep dive into California’s grocery prices calls to mind compelling parallels with the state’s ongoing push for lower health care costs.
CHA Educates State Policymakers on Major Threats to Access and Affordability
What’s happening: On May 20, CHA staff and hospital leaders convened about 40 legislative staffers for a discussion of policies coming out of Washington, D.C., and Sacramento that seriously threaten access to affordable care.
What Kind of Health Care System Will We Have Left?
Health care — one of our most fundamental needs as human beings — is at an inflection point.
OHCA’s Work Will ‘Devastate Hospitals,’ Lawmakers Tell HCAI Director
What’s happening: Last week, members of the Senate subcommittee that oversees the Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA’s) budget expressed deep concern with the agency’s work. Committee Chair Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) noted that, “At the end of the day, something has to give. Either [the hospitals] won’t make it and be penalized, or they have to cut services — and either way, the people who will pay are the patients.”