Federal Spending Deal Includes Key Wins for Hospital Care

Hospitals and health systems are getting some financial relief and operational predictability, thanks to a bipartisan health care spending bill signed by President Trump earlier this week.

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Rural Health Symposium to Explore Workforce, Care Coordination, and More

What’s happening: The agenda is set for CHA’s Rural Health Care Symposium, which will be held March 23-24 in Sacramento. This unique symposium, which is dedicated to California’s rural hospital leaders, will explore the specific challenges rural hospitals face and offer valuable insights into a range of critical health care topics. 

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As CHA Continues Push for Collaboration, OHCA Indicates Openness to Corrected Hospital Financial Data

What’s happening: The Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA) board met on Jan. 28 to discuss several issues, including enforcement of the spending targets and whether to consider resubmissions of hospital data for the purposes of defining “high-cost” hospitals and assessing compliance with the spending targets. 

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CHA Urges State to Leverage MCO Funds to Support Directed Payments, Ensure Compliance with Prop. 35 Provisions

What’s happening: Following this month’s release of the 2025-26 spending plan for managed care organization (MCO) tax proceeds generated under Proposition 35 (2024), CHA has submitted recommendations to Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Director Michelle Baass.  

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DHCS to Host Webinar on Implementation of One Big Beautiful Bill Act

What’s happening: On Feb. 5 at 11 a.m. (PT), the Department of Health Care Services will host an “all-comer” webinar to walk through its implementation plan for House Resolution (H.R.) 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will make sweeping changes to Medicaid.  

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CHA Urges Two Key Changes in CY 2027 MA Proposed Rule

What’s happening: On Jan. 26, CHA submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the calendar year (CY) 2027 Medicare Advantage (MA) proposed rule.  

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Update on Rural Health Transformation Program

What’s happening: Following last year’s announcement of the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), CHA has been in close communication with the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI), which is responsible for determining how the funds are spent and implementing proposals the federal government approves.  

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Delay in Staffing Policy Prevents Psychiatric Care Crisis

Earlier this week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced it would delay adopting emergency regulations for acute psychiatric hospital staffing until June 1, rather than its original deadline of Jan. 31. 

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CDPH Issues Reminder on Post-Survey Evaluations

What’s happening: Last week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released All Facilities Letter (AFL) 26-02, which reminds facilities that an online evaluation is available to help improve the post-survey process.  

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EMSA Releases Updated AB 40 Regulations; Comments Due March 4

What’s happening: The Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) has released updated Assembly Bill (AB) 40 regulations for final rulemaking related to ambulance patient offload times (APOT), with comments due on March 4. 

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