The newsroom includes access to CHA News, which provides timely information to members every Monday and 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
CAHHS Board Member Honored With James Irvine Leadership Award
Earlier this week, Elaine Batchlor, MD, MPH — CEO of Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital in Los Angeles and a member of the California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems Board of Trustees — was named as a recipient of the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. The award recognizes her commitment to serving the South Los Angeles area, a long-underserved community with a severe shortage of health care providers.
Hospitals Should Review New Requirements for Hospital Presumptive Eligibility Application Portal
Later this year, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) will modify access to the Hospital Presumptive Eligibility (HPE) Application Portal. Providers who have not yet updated their HPE user information should do so to ensure they do not lose access to the portal.
CHA DataSuite Releases Revised Reports for FFY 2020 Medicare Hospital Wage Index, Occupational Mix Data
CHA has provided member hospitals and health systems with revised reports to provide them with a comparative review of the wage and occupational mix data that will be used to develop the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2020 Medicare hospital wage index.
Report Provides Educational Solutions, Regional Forecasts for California RN Workforce
A new report identifies the clinical capacity of and training needs for the state’s nursing workforce, particularly RN surpluses and shortages by region. The report is the culmination of a landmark initiative to identify innovative solutions for the most challenging nursing education issues facing California.
Hospitals Should Review Policies on Reporting Time Pay
Earlier this week, a California appellate court issued a published decision interpreting California’s reporting time pay requirement. While the decision in Ward v. Tilly’s Inc. was not unanimous and could be appealed to the California Supreme Court, employers should take note of the case’s reasoning.
CMS Proposes Updates to CLIA Proficiency Testing Regulations
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued a proposed rule that would update proficiency testing and referral requirements under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments.
Changes Proposed for Drug Discount Safe Harbor Protections
The Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued a proposed rule that would remove the Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbor protection for drug rebates paid by drug makers to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), Part D plans and Medicaid managed care organizations.
CHA Helps Reduce Behavioral Health Stigma With Powerful New Video
In an effort to help reduce the stigma around behavioral health issues, CHA has released a new video featuring five accomplished health care executives who have faced mental health challenges. The powerful “truth telling” video is the product of the keynote session at CHA’s recent Behavioral Health Symposium.
CHA Board Approves 2019 Advocacy Priorities
In its first meeting of the year on Jan. 31, the CHA Board of Trustees discussed and approved CHA’s 2019 advocacy priorities, which include leading efforts to improve coverage and access to health care; exploring new approaches to making health care more affordable; ensuring adequate state and federal funding for hospitals; reducing stigma and improving access to behavioral health care; strengthening the health care workforce and increasing funding for graduate medical education; and easing statutory and regulatory burdens for providers.
Registration Open for Hospital Employee Safety and Workers’ Compensation Seminar
CHA’s annual members-only Hospital Employee Safety and Workers’ Compensation Seminar – set for March 14 in Costa Mesa and March 20 in Sacramento – will include facilitated roundtable discussions, a question and answer session on the various workers’ compensation challenges hospitals face daily, and a discussion of the toll California wildfires took on two hospitals’ leadership and staff.