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The 2022 Report on State Legislation is designed to be shared with your leadership team so they are apprised of new laws and can take any steps needed to implement the requirements. As you have continued to care for all Californians, CHA has worked with the Legislature to secure the most favorable outcome possible on dozens of bills that affect hospitals.
What’s happening: Senate Bill (SB) 632 would create a private sector workers’ compensation presumption that a variety of illnesses and injuries, including COVID-19, arose in the course of providing direct patient care at hospitals. It is critical that hospitals urge opposition to this bill.
What else to know: Hospitals are encouraged to write a letter urging Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, chair of the state Senate Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement, to oppose this bill. The deadline to submit letters is noon (PT) on April 2, and the committee will hear the bill on April 9.
What’s happening: As Congress works on a federal budget for 2026 that could result in devastating cuts to Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California), it is imperative that all hospital leaders let members of Congress know directly the impact these cuts will have on the people and communities they represent. Representatives will be home in their districts from April 11-27, which is an excellent time to invite your representative to come visit their local hospital.
What’s happening: On April 23 and May 19, CHA is hosting the 2025 Consent Law Seminar in Burbank and Sacramento, respectively; a livestream option is also available for the May 19 date.
What else to know: The seminar will cover new federal health care guidelines and recent state statutes, including how, together, Assembly Bill 2275 and Senate Bill 43 impact involuntary holds. Visit the event web page to register and view the full agenda.
What’s happening: At the Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA’s) March 25 board meeting, the board discussed the hospital sector proposal and reviewed initial feedback from interviews with hospitals. While no final decisions or changes were made, the board signaled openness to reintroducing a limited exclusion for small hospitals.
What else to know: In written and verbal comments, CHA and hospital members pushed back against OHCA’s high-cost hospital proposal, finding it premature, based on anomalous data and biased methodologies — and certain to significantly harm access to high-quality hospital care in communities throughout California.
What’s happening: The Hospital Quality Institute (HQI) is offering a service that provides 95% of the information hospitals are required to report by Sept. 30 under Assembly Bill 1204. HQI is hosting a webinar on April 10 addressing the challenges hospitals encounter in equity reporting and how its Hospital Quality Improvement Platform (HQIP) can simplify this process.
What else to know: The webinar will share practical strategies and tools to assist hospitals in meeting the mandatory health equity reporting requirements. This is the third in a four-part series; more information can be found on HQI’s website.
What’s happening: A summary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Marketplace Integrity and Affordability proposed rule for health insurance marketplaces — including issuers, agents, and brokers who assist marketplace enrollees — is available for CHA members.
What else to know: Comments on the proposed rule, which alters several policies, are due to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) by April 11.
What’s happening: CHA DataSuite has issued a hospital-specific analysis of the outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) observation and emergency department (ED) utilization.
What else to know: The analysis provides a comparative review of Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) outpatient observation and ED visits during calendar years (CYs) 2019-23.
This week, California’s congressional representatives returned from their home districts to a gray and gloomy Washington, D.C.
What’s happening: CHA DataSuite has issued a hospital-specific analysis of the inpatient post-acute care transfer (PACT) adjustment policy that shows the estimated impact on Medicare inpatient fee-for-service (FFS) payments.
What else to know: The analysis also shows corresponding Medicare severity diagnosis-related group (MS-DRG) volumes from the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) during federal fiscal years (FFYs) 2020-25.