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
Applications for American Rescue Plan Health Center ‘Look-Alike’ Grant Funding Due May 14
The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will award up to $145 million in one-time grant funding to health center “look-alikes” to respond to and mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
CHA DataSuite Releases Analyses of FFY 2022 IRF and SNF PPS Proposed Rules
CHA DataSuite has released hospital-specific impact analyses of the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2022 Medicare inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) and skilled-nursing facility (SNF) prospective payment system (PPS) proposed rules.
Hospitals Face Long, Hard Road Back to ‘Normal’
This week, the nation pauses to recognize, reflect upon, and respond to a crisis centuries in the making: The fact that the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world, driven by the sad and unacceptable mortality rates among Black mothers, who are 2.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.
Black Maternal Health Week, held annually in the middle of National Minority Health Month, presents a notable opportunity to not only take stock of where California sits in the efforts to reduce maternal health disparities, but also to listen and learn from the people who are suffering, including the most vulnerable: Black infants in the United States die at more than twice the rate of white infants.
California is a national leader in the fight to reduce maternal deaths — the rate has been cut by 68% in the past decade and is well below the national average — but the numbers of Black moms dying are still far too high.
That’s why it’s vital that we continue to build on the work hospitals are already doing to address this problem, including:
The Hospital Quality Institute’s Perinatal Mental Health Learning Community
is helping 145 enrolled hospitals strengthen their approaches to maternal mental health in the perinatal period through education, technical assistance, and peer support.
More than 90% of California’s hospitals participate in the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, which employs data, rapid response analysis, and comprehensive toolkits to improve health outcomes for mothers and infants.
Many hospitals are engaging in anti-bias training to mitigate the effects of implicit bias on moms and babies.
Cherished Futures for Black Moms and Babies, a collaboration among hospitals, community-based organizations, public health agencies, and health care workers supported by the Hospital Association of Southern California’s Communities Lifting Communities initiative is working to reduce Black infant mortality and improve Black maternal patient experiences in South Los Angeles and the Antelope Valley.
More can and must be done.
If there’s any silver lining to the COVID-19 crisis and recent heightened awareness of systemic racism, it’s that the conversations about longstanding health disparities are now front and center, and the forum to have uncomfortable discussions is here.
As is the case with any issue that has layer upon layer of complexity and paths toward solution, honest and earnest dialogue will be the first step toward action that can effect meaningful, sustainable, and compassionate change.
OSHPD Guidance Available for Hospital Supplier Diversity Reports Due on July 1
The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) recently posted guidance and suggested templates for hospitals, which must annually submit a report to the office on their minority, women, LGBT, and disabled veteran business enterprise procurement efforts. The first supplier diversity report is due July 1. Hospitals can request a 30-day extension for reporting and may email their request to SupplierDiversity@oshpd.ca.gov.
Livanta to Begin Conducting Short Stay, Higher-Weighted Diagnosis Related Group Claim Reviews
Livanta — the Medicare beneficiary and family-centered care quality improvement organization for California — will begin conducting Short Stay and Higher-Weighted Diagnosis Related Group claims reviews for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
HHS Eases Certain Requirements for Prescribing Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
On April 28, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released new practice guidelines for administering buprenorphine.
CMS Issues FFY 2022 Long-Term Care Hospital PPS Proposed Rule
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its fiscal year (FY) 2022 updated payment policies and other provisions for the long-term care hospital (LTCH) prospective payment system (PPS). Comments on the proposed rule are due by 2 p.m. (PT) on June 28.
CMS Issues FFY 2022 Inpatient Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its federal fiscal year (FFY) 2022 inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) proposed rule. Comments on the proposed rule are due to CMS by 2 p.m. (PT) on June 28.
CHA Provides Overview of Hospital Scorecards
Several hospital organizations that rank or grade hospitals released updates this week, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Overall Hospital Star Ratings (searchable on Care Compare), Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades, and Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals. The CMS star ratings updates were a particular area of focus as the new version incorporated several methodological changes. Hospitals may receive...
CHA Alert Urges Congress to Reset the IMPACT Act
On April 28, CHA issued an alert encouraging members to contact their congressional representative and request their support of H.R. 2455, The Resetting the Impact Act (TRIA) of 2021, which seeks to update the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014 by requiring the use of more recent, relevant data in future payment policy development.
