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
CHA President & CEO Carmela Coyle to Retire in Early 2027
SACRAMENTO (February 5, 2026) — California Hospital Association President & CEO Carmela Coyle today announced her plans to retire in early 2027, after a 44-year career in health care policy and advocacy.
Proposed Staffing Regulations Will Immediately Reduce Psychiatric Hospital Beds, Upending Behavioral Health Care in California
In a proposal that is as baffling as it is irresponsible, new regulations from the California Department of Public Health will prevent Californians from getting the mental health care they desperately need.
Dignity Health California President Julie Sprengel Elected 2026 Chair of CHA Board of Trustees
SACRAMENTO (January 13, 2026) — Julie Sprengel, President of Dignity Health California, a member of CommonSpirit Health, has been elected 2026 chair of the California Hospital Association’s Board of Trustees. Sprengel, who joined Dignity Health in 2016 as the then-Southern California Service Area SVP, now leads one of California’s largest not-for-profit health systems. In her role as head of the largest region within CommonSpirit, Sprengel oversees 45,000 employees and 15,000 physicians working at 29 acute care hospitals and more than 250 ambulatory care sites across the state.
OHCA Violated State Law, Ignored Mandate to Consider Impact of Decisions on Health Care Access, Workers, and More: Hospital Association Lawsuit
SACRAMENTO (Oct. 15, 2025) — California’s Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) has violated state law by setting caps on the resources hospitals have available to care for patients, as it ignored a clear legislative mandate to safeguard access to care, protect health care workers, improve health equity, and preserve or enhance the quality of care.
Cynical Ballot Measure Would Drive Best and Brightest from California, Harming Patient Care
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date. “At a time when California’s health care system will be tested like never before, it’s regrettable that one organization is driving the best and brightest minds away from our state, said Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California Hospital Association. […]
Federal Medicaid Cuts Will Mean Real Harm to Real People Across California
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date. “The cuts to the Medicaid program will mean real harm to real people in communities large and small across California,” said Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California Hospital Association. “These are the largest cuts to our health care system […]
Newsom Administration Proposal to Use Proposition 35 Funds to Balance State Budget Thwarts Will of California Voters
SACRAMENTO (May 14, 2025) — “Just two days after a congressional committee released a federal budget proposal that would hollow out Californians’ health care services through drastic Medicaid cuts, the state’s May budget revision proposal piles on. The state would fill its spending gap by taking $1.6 billion from resources that voters directed to Medi-Cal providers and protecting access to care,” said Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California Hospital Association.
Medicaid Cuts Will Hurt All Californians
SACRAMENTO (May 12, 2025) — “The legislation proposed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee to enact massive Medicaid cuts is a devastating blow that will be felt by all who need hospital care,” said Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California Hospital Association. “Cuts of this magnitude cannot be absorbed. Hospitals will have no other choice but to reduce patient care services or, in the worst cases, close entirely. That means care is lost for everyone — children, seniors, privately insured people — no matter what type of health insurance coverage you have.”
California Hospitals Denounce State Cuts to Health Care
SACRAMENTO (April 22, 2025) — “Today’s decision by the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) to impose deep cuts on seven hospitals will create alarming consequences for patient care,” said Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California Hospital Association. “These cuts are coming on top of below-inflation spending caps for all hospitals that OHCA has already put in place. Make no mistake — the hospital care Californians receive is now being decided by a handful of unelected people who are cutting billions of dollars from your health care.”
Hospitals Call Out Office of Health Care Affordability’s Flaws in Setting Limits on Health Care Spending
SACRAMENTO (March 26, 2025) — “The Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA’s) efforts to impose below-cost spending caps on hospitals —and call out 11 specific hospitals for even deeper cuts— is premature and without solid basis,” said Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California Hospital Association. “The decisions made by the OHCA Board will cap how much can be spent on health care for Californians — that means real pain for real people.”
