The newsroom includes access to CHA News, which provides timely information to members every Thursday and is at the core of CHA benefits. In addition, it is also home to resources such as toolkits and talking points designed to help member hospitals and health systems communicate with internal and external audiences on a range of current health care-related issues. Links to CHA media statements and press releases can also be found here.
Newsroom
Hospital Fee Program Invoices Due Aug. 26
What’s happening: Two fee payments are due from hospitals to the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) on Aug. 26. It is critical that all hospitals pay their invoices in full and on time.
Register for CalRHT Workforce Development Grant Funding Webinar
What’s happening: The California Rural Health Transformation (CalRHT) team is hosting a webinar at 1 p.m. (PT) on Aug. 4 on the grant funding opportunity for the Workforce Development Recruitment and Retention (WDRR) Program. The application period for this grant is July 31-Aug. 31.
Chapter 6 and AB 40 Regulations Now Final
What’s happening: The Office of Administrative Law has approved two regulations related to emergency departments:
Implementation of Assembly Bill 40 (ambulance patient offload times) – in effect as of July 23, 2026
Chapter 6 Specialty Designation and Regulations (trauma, STEMI/stroke, emergency medical services care for children) – effective Oct. 1
Looking Under the Hood on Why Health Care Spending Keeps Rising
In recent media coverage of insurance company premium hikes for plans sold through Covered California, national for-profit insurers are once again playing a tired and disingenuous blame game.
CalRHT Grant Applications Open, Partnership Assessment Tool Now Available
What’s happening: The Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) has released details on several new funding opportunities under the California Rural Health Transformation (CalRHT) Program.
CMS Proposes Changes to Medicaid Provider Tax Rules
What's happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a proposed rule implementing the provider tax provisions included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), while also proposing additional policy changes that would strengthen federal oversight of Medicaid provider taxes.
CHA Signs on to Second Letter on Cal/OSHA’s Proposed Changes to Walkaround Rule
What’s happening: CHA has signed on to a second coalition letter on the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA) proposed rulemaking for Employer Representative and Representative Authorized by Employees During Workplace Inspections (walkaround rule). It would govern when employer representatives and employee-authorized representatives may accompany Cal/OSHA personnel during workplace inspections.
EMSA Pausing Audit Tool Compliance Activities Through August
What’s happening: The Emergency Medical Services Agency (EMSA) is pausing some activities associated with Assembly Bill 40 compliance and the ambulance patient offload time (APOT) Audit Tool. All APOT audits, compliance evaluations, and ongoing biweekly calls with participating facilities exceeding their APOT standard will be paused through August 2026.
DHCS to Host July 30 Town Hall on Enrollment Requirements for Pharmacy and Medical Billing Claims
What’s happening: The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) will host a town hall on July 30 at 9:30 a.m. (PT) to explain Ordering, Referring, and Prescribing (ORP) enrollment requirements for claims across both pharmacy (Medi-Cal Rx) and medical (CA-MMIS) billing systems. While event registration is currently full, interested members should join the waitlist — CHA...
The Other Half of the Affordability Conversation
A pair of recent articles by nationally renowned health care policy experts — one in Health Affairs and one in The New York Times — underscores points that CHA has been making for years around the unintended consequences of artificially capping spending on health care services without adequately considering the impact on access to care, jobs, and patients’ experience.
