About Laws & Regulations
Navigating the vast network of health care laws and regulations is difficult. To help hospitals, CHA produces manuals and guidebooks, including the Consent Manual, a one-stop resource for all legal requirements related to patient consent for medical treatment, release of medical information, reporting requirements and more; the Model Medical Staff Bylaws and Rules, which outline the framework for working relationships among medical staff, hospital administrators and governing bodies; and the California Hospital Compliance Manual, which covers high-risk compliance issues. CHA also represents California hospitals’ interests in court on issues, including reimbursement, labor and employment, and more.
CHA-Opposed “Neglect” Bill Not Moving Forward This Year
What’s happening: A CHA-opposed Assembly bill that would have expanded the definitions of elder abuse and neglect will not move forward this year.
What else to know: Assembly Bill (AB) 2800 (Kalra, D-San Jose) would have expanded the types of conduct that constitute elder abuse and lowered the standard of proof a plaintiff must meet to recover on such claims. CHA’s opposition to this bill centered on its undermining of the stabilizing influence of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA).
Summaries: FFY 2025 Hospice, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility, Skilled-Nursing Facility Medicare Payment Rules
What’s happening: Summaries of the hospice wage index, inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) prospective payment system (PPS), and skilled-nursing facility (SNF) PPS proposed rules are now available.
What else to know: Comments on the proposed rules are due by May 28.
Summary: Finalized Policy Changes for MA Plans in Contract Year 2025
What’s happening: A summary of the finalized changes to Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D programs for contract year 2025 is now available.
What else to know: The regulation is effective June 3.
CMS Proposes 2.6% Inpatient Prospective Payment System Rate Increase for FY 2025
What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a net increase to base Medicare inpatient payment rates (market basket update) of 2.6% for fiscal year (FY) 2025.
What else to know: The increase is included in the FY 2025 Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) and long-term care hospital (LTCH) prospective payment system proposed rule. Comments on the proposed rule are due to CMS by June 10.
CHA Comments on Proposed Accrediting Organization Requirements
What’s happening: CHA submitted comments in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed changes to accrediting organization (AO) requirements.
What else to know: Comments were due to CMS on April 15.
CMS Issues Post-Acute Care Payment Proposed Rules
What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its proposed payment policies for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), skilled-nursing facilities (SNFs), and hospices for federal fiscal year (FFY) 2025.
What else to know: Comments on the proposed rules are due to CMS by 2 p.m. (PT) on May 28.
CMS Issues FFY 2025 Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS Proposed Rule
What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its federal fiscal year (FFY) 2025 inpatient psychiatric facility (IPF) prospective payment system (PPS) proposed rule.
What else to know: Comments are due to CMS by 2 p.m. (PT) on May 28.
CMS Revises Informed Consent Guidance for Hospitals
What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its Hospital Interpretive Guidelines for Informed Consent.
What else to know: The guidance clarifies the need to obtain informed consent from patients to perform important surgical tasks, and sensitive or invasive procedures, as well as examinations outside of the medically necessary procedure.
State Regulators, Hospital Leaders to Share Best Practices for Program Flex Requests
What’s happening: On April 24 from 9-10:30 a.m. (PT), CHA will host a members-only webinar to discuss trends and lessons learned related to program flex requests.
What else to know: Presenters include leadership from the California Department of Public Health and hospital leaders.
CHA Translates Required Patient Language Assistance Taglines
What’s happening: Regulations recently adopted by the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) under the Hospital Fair Pricing Policies Law require hospitals to provide “taglines” on patient documents in several different languages.
What else to know: The taglines inform patients that language assistance services are available and how to access them. CHA has included a tagline sheet with translations in 18 languages.