Newborn Hospital Gateway Program Budget Trailer Bill

The Newborn Hospital Gateway (Gateway) trailer bill proposal would require a hospital to report the birth of a baby by a Medi-Cal mother within 24 hours of the birth event. A significant issue with the 24-hour requirement is that there are many instances where the information that is needed to report to the Gateway would not be available or attainable within that time frame. For instance, for personal or cultural reasons, parents may not even have named their child within 24 hours or chosen which surname will be used. Similarly, if there were complications for a mother or her baby during the birth, it may not be possible to get the information needed to complete the Gateway process within 24 hours. CHA supports the bill if amended to allow hospitals to complete reporting in the Gateway system within 72 hours after the birth event or one business day after discharge, whichever is later.