Homepage
Did you know? $378 Billion Hospitals are economic engines that represent $378 billion as well as over 1 million jobs.
Did you know? $378 Billion Hospitals are economic engines that represent $378 billion as well as over 1 million jobs.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued the following updates this week:
CHA, the Hospital Association of Southern California, the Hospital Association of San Diego & Imperial Counties, and the Hospital Council — Northern & Central California have joined the California Medical Association’s grassroots efforts to help build trust in the COVID-19 vaccines.
The #ThisIsOurShot campaign seeks to use evidence-based messaging to elevate the voices of health care heroes as trusted messengers through stories, photos, and videos. Front-line health care workers are encouraged to tell their stories and share their personal COVID-19 vaccine experiences with the network.
The Joint Commission (TJC) is planning to resume unannounced surveys on March 15.
For the past few months, given the COVID-19 pandemic, TJC account executives have reached out to providers to determine their readiness for survey prior to arriving. Given the decreasing incidence and caseloads of COVID-19, they will be returning to their pre-pandemic procedures.
On Feb. 26, CHA sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly on surge preparations, seeking to continue to partner, assess lessons learned, and resolve unfinished business that must be addressed in the event of another surge.
Specifically, the letter makes five recommendations:
On March 24 from 11 a.m. to noon (PT), CHA will host a members-only webinar explaining the No Surprises Act, which prohibits patients from getting surprise bills in certain out-of-network situations.
Chad Mulvany, CHA vice president, federal policy, will lead the discussion on the act, which was signed into law last year as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and addresses surprise medical billing for federally regulated plans and in states without surprise billing laws.
As previously announced, the state of California has contracted with Blue Shield of California to create a statewide network of COVID-19 vaccine providers.
A hospital, clinic, pharmacy, or other entity that wishes to administer COVID-19 vaccines after March 31 must sign an agreement with Blue Shield. The contract, which Blue Shield states is now final, requires vaccine providers to:
California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), is a multiyear process led by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), with goals to improve the health outcomes and quality of life experienced by Medi-Cal patients.
The CalAIM initiative, originally scheduled for Jan. 1, 2021, implementation, was postponed due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. In January, DHCS released a revised proposal that includes changes based on stakeholder feedback and an updated implementation timeline of Jan. 1, 2022.
These changes to Medi-Cal will have a tremendous impact on hospitals. Please join us for the webinar that will help you understand what lies ahead and how to prepare for these changes.
On March 2, the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health held a virtual hearing on The Future of Telehealth: How COVID-19 is Changing the Delivery of Virtual Care. The subcommittee is chaired by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (CA-18) with Reps. Matsui (CA-6), Cardenas (CA-29), Ruiz (CA-36) and Barragan (CA-44) among its members.