What’s happening: The Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) will host a hospitals-only webinar on June 24 from 8-9:30 a.m. (PT) to share more information about its new “APOT Audit Tool” and solicit feedback.
(more…)EMSA Solicits Hospital Feedback on APOT Audit Tool
Senate Committee Proposes Drastic Medicaid Cuts
On Monday, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee released legislative language for its version of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a budget bill that would overhaul the nation’s tax structure, in large part through expansive cuts to Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California).
(more…)Reminder: Documents that Create Medical Debt Must Include Specific Language
What’s happening: Beginning July 1, hospitals must include specific language on any document that indicates the patient agrees to pay the hospital’s bill, per Senate Bill (SB) 1061 (2024). Failure to include the required language means the hospital cannot enforce the debt.
(more…)MedPAC Releases Report to Congress on Medicare, Health Care Delivery System
What’s happening: The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC’s) June 2025 Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, released June 12, covers improvements to Medicare payment systems, issues affecting the Medicare program, and changes to both health care delivery and the market for health care services.
(more…)CDPH Health Advisory Urges Summertime Testing for Influenza A
What’s happening: The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released a Health Advisory on June 11 recommending that, as the 2024-25 flu season ends, health care providers continue testing for influenza throughout the summer — particularly in patients with respiratory illness, conjunctivitis, or avian influenza A (H5N1) exposure risk factors.
(more…)Insurers’ Admin Costs and Profits Ballooned 25% in 2023, OHCA Analysis Finds
What’s happening: At its June 9 meeting, the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) board discussed the office’s first baseline report, which highlights that total health care expenditures grew by 8.2% (from $378 billion to $409 billion) from 2022 to 2023.
(more…)Senate, Assembly Legislative Budget Agreement Includes Diversion of Prop 35 Funds
What’s happening: This week, the Assembly and the Senate agreed on a budget package for the 2025-26 fiscal year that diverts Proposition (Prop) 35 funds away from their intended purpose; the package also includes several other key provisions relevant to hospitals and health care providers, particularly within the Medi-Cal program.
(more…)Senate Poised to Make Even Deeper Medicaid Cuts
The U.S. Senate has been toiling this week to modify the House of Representatives’ “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” with different factions in the GOP angling to put their own imprint on President Donald Trump’s signature tax legislation. Each group has its own goals: Moderates want to protect Medicaid beneficiaries; fiscal hawks want deeper cuts; a handful are pushing to eliminate higher state and local tax deductions (SALT) and others are focused on green energy tax credits, increases in defense spending, sparing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and more.
(more…)Hospital Equity Reporting Regulations Now in Effect, Deadline for HQI’s Reporting Assistance Extended
What’s happening: The regulations to implement Assembly Bill (AB) 1204 (2021), which requires hospitals to submit annual reports to the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) on measures related to health equity, are effective as of June 4.
(more…)Impact Analysis Models 3.4% Market Basket Increase, Other Payment Changes for Long-Term Care Hospitals in FFY 2026
What’s happening: CHA DataSuite’s hospital-specific impact analysis of the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2026 Medicare Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) proposed rule.
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