CHA has joined with California's safety-net hospitals on the Disproportionate-Share Hospital (DSH) Task Force to send a letter to members of the California congressional delegation urging them to protect the Medicaid program from any additional cuts to hospital payments. As the House searches for spending reductions to offset the elimination of cuts to defense spending, proposals have emerged to reduce states’ ability to use Medicaid provider taxes and DSH payments. These programs provide critical means for hospitals to bolster their ability to preserve health care services for the state’s most needy patients. CHA will continue to advocate against further cuts to hospitals as the House continues its budget reconciliation process. The DSH Task Force letter is attached.
The California Health Benefit Exchange (CHBE) Board has reviewed the attached report, prepared by Milliman, which analyzes and compares health services covered by the 10 Essential Health Benefits (EHB) benchmark plans for the state. The analysis includes comprehensive tables that summarize the coverage status of potential benchmark plans, as well as differences between the plans.
CHA has submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to the agency’s Request for Information regarding State Flexibility to Establish a Basic Health Program Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration, manufacturers and various patient safety agencies, fentaNYL transdermal patches continue to be prescribed inappropriately to treat patients with acute pain and who are not opioid tolerant.
Recognizing this as an ongoing issue, the CHA Medication Safety Committee created a High Alert Medication Guideline - FentaNYL Transdermal Patch is attached. The guideline summarizes safe-use practices; however, it should be considered only a guideline.
Measures to curb federal spending by trimming Medicare and Medicaid payments are options in the current deficit reduction environment. Providers already face billions of dollars in Medicare andMedicaid payment cuts. Efforts to further cut Medicare and Medicaid payments to providers jeopardize access to high quality healthcare services for America’s seniors and the poor. True entitlement reform and approaches to change the healthcare delivery system are needed – not provider cuts.
CHA has released a Special Report analyzing the effects of the proposed Medi-Cal cuts included in the Budget Act of 2011, signed by Governor Brown earlier this year, on patient access to hospital-based skilled-nursing-facilities (SNFs).
CHA presented the Special Report during a conference call with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) officials Diane Heffron, director, and Kristin Fan, deputy director, from the CMS Office of Financial Management.
According to the report, which includes research data from Avalere Health, the Medi-Cal cuts will
CHA has published a new publication that covers the basic principles of patient consent for health care treatment. The Principles of Consent and Advance Directives handbook explains why and when consent is necessary, who may give consent, how consent for minors is different, and procedures that require special consent. It also describes hospitals' obligations when dealing with complicated issues like advance health care directives, California's POLST form, refusal of treatment and end-of-life decisions.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced this week a new Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration designed to provide states with more flexibility and resources to care for Medicaid beneficiaries with mental illnesses.
The demonstration provides up to $75 million in federal matching funds to states over three years, as authorized by the Affordable Care Act, to help care for Medicaid patients (ages 21 through 64) with psychiatric emergencies, in private inpatient psychiatric facilities with 17 or more beds.
CMS is now accepting applications from st
CHA released hospital-specific DataSuite reports this week to member hospitals on the financial impact of the Medicare outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) proposed rule for calendar year (CY) 2012.
The analyses are intended to show hospitals how their outpatient payments will change from one year to the next due to the policies set forth in the proposal. Under the proposed rule, California hospital outpatient payments would increase by 0.8 percent over CY 2011 rates.
CHA will submit comments, due Aug. 30, to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
