About Finance & Reimbursement
Vulnerable Californians who rely on the care provided by California hospitals are at risk. Driven by skyrocketing costs for labor, pharmaceuticals, regulatory mandates, and more, 53% of all hospitals statewide lose money every day to deliver patient care.
That isn’t sustainable. And California is already seeing the frightening result: rural health care services being cut to the bone, severe behavioral health care needs not being met, and more.
Senate, Assembly Legislative Budget Agreement Includes Diversion of Prop 35 Funds
What’s happening: This week, the Assembly and the Senate agreed on a budget package for the 2025-26 fiscal year that diverts Proposition (Prop) 35 funds away from their intended purpose; the package also includes several other key provisions relevant to hospitals and health care providers, particularly within the Medi-Cal program.
Hospital Equity Reporting Regulations Now in Effect, Deadline for HQI’s Reporting Assistance Extended
What’s happening: The regulations to implement Assembly Bill (AB) 1204 (2021), which requires hospitals to submit annual reports to the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) on measures related to health equity, are effective as of June 4.
Impact Analysis Models 3.4% Market Basket Increase, Other Payment Changes for Long-Term Care Hospitals in FFY 2026
What’s happening: CHA DataSuite’s hospital-specific impact analysis of the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2026 Medicare Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) proposed rule.
CHA Comments on IPPS Proposed Rule
What’s happening: CHA submitted comments in response to the federal fiscal year 2026 inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) proposed rule, highlighting the inadequate proposed net payment update.
Hospitals Urge State to Allocate Prop 35 Funding As Intended
What’s happening: Last week, CHA submitted comments to the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) on the administration’s proposal to redirect Proposition (Prop) 35 (2024) funding, rather than allocating it for provider payment increases as voters intended.
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.
Three New FFY 2026 Impact Analyses Cover Medicare SNF, IRF, IPF Proposed Rules
What’s happening: CHA DataSuite released three hospital-specific analyses intended to show how Medicare skilled-nursing facility (SNF), inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF), and inpatient psychiatric facility (IPF) prospective payment systems (PPS) payments would change from federal fiscal year (FFY) 2025 to 2026 based on policies set forth in the respective proposed rules.
Federal Agencies Issue New Guidance, RFIs on Price Transparency in Health Care
What’s happening: In response to President Donald Trump’s February executive order on price transparency, the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury, as well as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, have issued new guidance and requests for information (RFIs) on machine-readable files, prescription drug pricing, and more.
Deadline Extended – Urge Lawmakers to Oppose Redirection of Prop 35 Funding
What’s happening: CHA has issued an alert asking members to contact their lawmakers by June 6 and urge them to protect Proposition 35 funding in the 2025-26 budget.
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.