What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has revised Appendix A of the State Operations Manual to include new interpretive guidelines and survey processes.   

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What’s happening: A detailed summary of the finalized provisions of the calendar year (CY) 2026 outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) final rule is available for members. 

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What is happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that it will be expanding the Review Choice Demonstration (RCD) for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Services to California, beginning May 1, 2026. 

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What’s happening: The Department of Health Care Access and Information’s Office of Statewide Hospital Planning and Development (OSHPD) has released a policy intent notice outlining its plans to standardize emergency work authorizations.  

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As California hospitals continue to face strong financial headwinds — soaring inflation, the pending effects of nearly $1 trillion in nationwide federal health care cuts, increased regulatory pressures, and more — all eyes are on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), where California’s submission for the next Hospital Fee Program is currently under review.

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What’s happening: This week, CHA submitted a letter to Health Care Affordability Board Chair Kim Johnson, calling out extensive shortcomings in the office’s recent report on Monterey County hospital prices and asking the office to look at all the factors influencing health care affordability – including commercial insurance companies’ role in driving up costs.  

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What’s happening: On Tuesday, the California Alignment for Hospital Quality (Cal HQ) will hold an informational session about the new collaborative’s work. Registration is required.    

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Improving Advocacy Through Member Support

First Name ↕	Last Name ↕	Organization ↕
Chuck	Kassis	Adventist Health Clear Lake
Greg	McCulloch	Adventist Health Sonora
Tyler	Newton	Adventist Health Sonora
Steven	Herber	Adventist Health St. Helena
John	Raffoul	Adventist Health White Memorial
David	Batista	Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center
Judi	Arnett	Cedars-Sinai
Joan	August	Cedars-Sinai
Terri	Cammarano	Cedars-Sinai
Stephanie	Cohen	Cedars-Sinai
Christina	Harris	Cedars-Sinai
James	Laur	Cedars-Sinai
Clare	Lee	Cedars-Sinai
David	Marshall	Cedars-Sinai
Jill	Martin	Cedars-Sinai
Peter	Slavin	Cedars-Sinai
Doug	Sturnick	Cedars-Sinai
Elnie	Vannatim	Cedars-Sinai
David	Wrigley	Cedars-Sinai
Stella	Chen	Cedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital
Bryan	Croft	Cedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital
Steven	Mohr	Huntington Health
Keith	Hobbs	Torrance Memorial Health
Robert	Stone	City of Hope
Joseph	Avelino	College Medical Center
Julie	Sprengel	Dignity Health
Arie	Dejong	Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital
Lisa	Moore	Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital
John	Holbert	Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
Ken	Keller	Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
Betsy	Hart	Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center
Sue	Andersen	Marian Regional Medical Center
Ken	Dalebout	Marian Regional Medical Center
Matt	Richardson	Marian Regional Medical Center
Doug	Archer	Mark Twain Medical Center
Steven	Foster	Mercy General Hospital
Dale	Johns	Mercy Medical Center Merced
Phyllis	Baltz	Methodist Hospital of Sacramento
Jeremy	Zoch	Northridge Hospital Medical Center
Julie	Ostrom	Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital
Paul	Rains	St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Center
Carolyn	Caldwell	St. Mary Medical Center Long Beach
Jackie	Van Blaricum	HCA Healthcare – Far West Division
Phil	Buttell	Los Robles Health System
Jesse	Tamplen	John Muir Behavioral Health Center
Carrie	Owen-Plietz	Kaiser Permanente Northern California Region
Michelle	Gaskill-Hames	Kaiser Permanente Southern California Region
Pamela	Galley	Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center
Tyler	Hedden	Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center
James	Robinson III	Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center
Abhishek	Dosi	Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center
Shasta	Addessi	Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center
Jane	Finley	Kaiser Permanente Zion Medical Center
Ikenna	Mmeje	USC Arcadia Hospital
Abe	Núñez	USC Arcadia Hospital
Robert	Shappley	USC Arcadia Hospital
Armand	Dorian	USC Verdugo Hills Hospital
Jennifer	Whitney	Palomar Health Rehabilitation Institute
Dennis	Sindelar	UC Davis Rehabilitation Hospital
Marcia	Manker	Orange Coast Medical Center
Emily	Randle	Orange Coast Medical Center
Mohammad	Naser	Centinela Hospital Medical Center
Paul	Sennett	Centinela Hospital Medical Center
Harold	Way	Chino Valley Medical Center
Dana	Roesler	Desert Valley Hospital
Meixiang	Zheng	Desert Valley Hospital
Rishab	Punjabi	Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center
Fred	Capozello	Paradise Valley Hospital
Neerav	Jadeja	Paradise Valley Hospital
Parrish	Scarboro	San Dimas Community Hospital
Claus	Daugaard	Shasta Regional Medical Center
Sam	Itani	Shasta Regional Medical Center
Clay	Farell	St. Francis Medical Center
Terri	Pasion	St. Francis Medical Center
EM	Garcia	Encino Hospital Medical Center
Rick	Mahalingam	Encino Hospital Medical Center
Daniel	Brothman	Huntington Beach Hospital
Ayman	Mousa	La Palma Intercommunity Hospital
Gail	Aviado	Montclair Hospital Medical Center
Michael	Keleman	Providence Redwood Memorial Hospital
Scott	Ciesielski	Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital
Bernard	Klein	Providence Holy Cross Medical Center
Seth	Teigen	Providence Mission Hospital
John	Goeders	Providence Saint John's Health Center
Michael	Ricks	Providence Saint John's Health Center
Brian	Helleland	Providence St. Joseph Hospital Orange
Laura	Ramos	Providence St. Jude Medical Center
Randall	Castillo	Providence St. Mary Medical Center
Jena	Jensen	CHOC Children's at Mission Hospital
Patrick	Frias	Rady Children's Hospital San Diego
Susan	Ehrlich	Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
Tom	Gammiere	Scripps Mercy Hospital
Linda	Van Fulpen	Sharp Grossmont Hospital
James	Smith	Sharp Memorial Hospital
David	Entwistle	Stanford Health Care
Misty	Jones	Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley – Livermore
Scott	Knight	Sutter Tracy Community Hospital
Mark	Lisa	Doctors Hospital of Manteca
Karen	Faulis	Hi-Desert Medical Center
Murali	Naidu	San Ramon Regional Medical Center
Helen	Herrera	Saint Agnes Medical Center
Johnese	Spisso	Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Patty	Maysent	UC San Diego Health
Chad	VanDenBerg	UC San Diego Health – Jacobs Medical Center
Joseph	Carmichael	UCI Health
Chad	Lefteris	UCI Health
Nathan	Shinagawa	UCI Health
Randolph	Siwabessy	UCI Health
Anne Marie	Watkins	UCI Health
Peter	Schneider	UCI Health – Orange
Nicholas	Holmes	UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland
Tricia	Williams	Fremont Hospital
Darlene	Wetton	Southwest Healthcare
Jared	Giles	Southwest Healthcare Rancho Springs Hospital
Frank	Pearson	VA San Diego Healthcare System
John	Beaman	Adventist Health
Kerry	Heinrich	Adventist Health
Jason	Wells	Adventist Health
James	Jackson	Alameda Health System
Melissa	Franks	All In One Enterprise
Lori	Dangberg	Alliance of Catholic Health Care
James	Arkens	Antelope Valley Medical Center
Satya	Dandamudi	Antelope Valley Medical Center
Nathan	Dean	Antelope Valley Medical Center
Sree	Gotti	Antelope Valley Medical Center
Michael	Mello	Antelope Valley Medical Center
Edward	Mirzabegian	Antelope Valley Medical Center
Troy	Schell	Antelope Valley Medical Center
Amit	Mohan	Barlow Respiratory Hospital
Carla	Adams	Barton Memorial Hospital
Kelly	Neiger	Barton Memorial Hospital
Clinton	Purvance	Barton Memorial Hospital
Elizabeth	Stork	Barton Memorial Hospital
Kandra	Yee	Barton Memorial Hospital
Evan	Rayner	Bear Valley Community Hospital
Scott	Becker	Becker's Hospital Review
Erica	Murray	California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems
Ann-Louise	Kuhns	California Children's Hospital Association
Diane	Abbett	California Healthcare Insurance Company, Inc.
Kirsten	Barlow	California Hospital Association
Alex	Baskett	California Hospital Association
David	Beard	California Hospital Association
Patricia	Blaisdell	California Hospital Association
Kiyomi	Burchill	California Hospital Association
Victor	Christy	California Hospital Association
Michele	Coughlin	California Hospital Association
Carmela	Coyle	California Hospital Association
Kalyn	Dean	California Hospital Association
Adam	Dorsey	California Hospital Association
Jan	Emerson Shea	California Hospital Association
Mark	Farouk	California Hospital Association
Erika	Frank	California Hospital Association
Jacquelyn	Garman	California Hospital Association
Lisa	Geraty	California Hospital Association
Delma	Giroski	California Hospital Association
Trina	Gonzalez	California Hospital Association
Vanessa	Gonzalez	California Hospital Association
Dietmar	Grellmann	California Hospital Association
Lisa	Hartzell	California Hospital Association
Kathleen	Imhoff	California Hospital Association
Ben	Johnson	California Hospital Association
Clinton	Lee	California Hospital Association
Jennifer	Lofton	California Hospital Association
Sheree	Lowe	California Hospital Association
Mary	Massey	California Hospital Association
Ben	McGowan	California Hospital Association
Jennifer	Newman	California Hospital Association
Jenny	Nguyen	California Hospital Association
Amber	Ott	California Hospital Association
Brianna	Parker	California Hospital Association
Julie	Reppas	California Hospital Association
Lois	Richardson	California Hospital Association
Anthony	Roth	California Hospital Association
Emily	Schroeder	California Hospital Association
Kathryn	Scott	California Hospital Association
David	Simon	California Hospital Association
Susan	Steffes-Ferri	California Hospital Association
Savannah	Tapia	California Hospital Association
Victoria	Valencia	California Hospital Association
Peggy	Wheeler	California Hospital Association
Justin	Ziombra	California Hospital Association
Megan	Howard	California Hospital Association, DC Office
Michelle	Millerick	California Hospital Association, DC Office
Anne	O'Rourke	California Hospital Association, DC Office
Loriann	DeMartini	California Society of Health System Pharmacists
Tim	Kielpinski	Catalina Island Health
Sean	Collins	Cedars-Sinai Health System
Brian	Weinberg	Cedars-Sinai Health System
Marcel	Loh	CHA Lifetime Award
Lara	Khouri	Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Scott	Lieberenz	Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Paul	Viviano	Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Shelly	Schlenker	CommonSpirit Health
Michelle	Von Tersch	Community Health System
Kathryn	Bazylewicz	Cottage Health
Nick	Henderson	Cottage Health
Matt	Morgan	Cottage Health
Ganesh	Persad	Cottage Health
Scott	Wester	Cottage Health
Terri	Keville	Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Bradley	Elkin	Diepenbrock Elkin Dauer McCandless LLP
Ryan	Witz	District Hospital Leadership Forum
Omar	Chughtai	El Camino Health, Los Gatos
Jonathan	Cowan	El Camino Health, Mountain View
Deanna	Dudley	El Camino Health, Mountain View
Mark	Klein	El Camino Health, Mountain View
Tracey	Lewis-Taylor	El Camino Health, Mountain View
Cheryl	Reinking	El Camino Health, Mountain View
Dan	Woods	El Camino Health, Mountain View
Pablo	Velez	El Centro Regional Medical Center
Roger	Sharma	Emanate Health
Jolene	Francis	Enloe Health
Mike	Wiltermood	Enloe Health
Kevin	Woodward	Enloe Health
Heather	Luck	Five Star Bank
Minty	Dillon	Good Samaritan Hospital
Lori	Morgan	Group Participant – No longer with Hospital/System
Geoff	Harkness	Harkness Financial
CHPAC Donor	HealthPlus Shared Services	Healthplus Shared Services
Kevin	Klockenga	Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital
Teresa	Conk	Hoag Hospital Irvine
Janell	Griggs	Hoag Hospital Irvine
Kathy	Azeez Narain	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Arpi	Bekmezian	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
James	Boyle	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Robert	Braithwaite	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Michael	Brant-Zawadski	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Allyson	Brooks	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Marcy	Brown	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Carmella	Cassetta	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Eric	Cheung	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Martin	Fee	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Michael	Gam	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Andrew	Guarni	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Dori	Holnagel	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Gayathri	Jith	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Michael	Krug	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Richard	Martin	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Ryan	Olsen	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Sheila	Porter	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Kimberlee	Rosa	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Dominic	Shields	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Bonny	Shum	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Maureen	Sparks	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Kim	Mikes	Hoag Orthopedic Institute
Alina	Miller	Hoag Orthopedic Institute
Christine	Wages	Hoag Orthopedic Institute
Lloyd	Bookman	Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, PC
Dimitrios	Alexiou	Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties
Lisa	Sontag	Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties
Caryn	Sumek	Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties
Lindsey	Wade	Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties
Megan	Barajas	Hospital Association of Southern California
Adam	Blackstone	Hospital Association of Southern California
George	Greene	Hospital Association of Southern California
Margaret	O'Donnell	Hospital Association of Southern California
Ana	Reza	Hospital Association of Southern California
Sharon	Richards	Hospital Association of Southern California
Isela	Rivas	Hospital Association of Southern California
Tom	Soto	Hospital Association of Southern California
Audra	Strickland	Hospital Association of Southern California
Adena	Tessler	Hospital Association of Southern California
Kristina	Tran	Hospital Association of Southern California
Paul	Young	Hospital Association of Southern California
T	Abraham	Hospital Council – Northern and Central California
David	Bacci	Hospital Council – Northern and Central California
Bryan	Bucklew	Hospital Council – Northern and Central California
Jo	Coffaro	Hospital Council – Northern and Central California
Michon	Coleman	Hospital Council – Northern and Central California
Laura	Goria	Hospital Council – Northern and Central California
Meghan	Hardin	Hospital Council – Northern and Central California
Angela	Nielsen	Hospital Council – Northern and Central California
Valerie	Norvell	Hospital Council – Northern and Central California
Rebecca	Rozen	Hospital Council – Northern and Central California
Robert	Imhoff	Hospital Quality Institute
Scott	Masten	Hospital Quality Institute
Jake	Wilson	J & J Wilson Farming
Mike	Thomas	John Muir Health
Dale	Surowitz	Joyce Eisenberg Keefer Medical Center
Gregory	Adams	Kaiser Permanente
Gary	Herbst	Kaweah Health Medical Center
Kenneth	Sacks	Kenneth Sacks, M.D., Inc.
Glenn	Solomon	King & Spalding LLP
Daron	Tooch	King & Spalding LLP
Yvette	Cope	Lompoc Valley Medical Center
Barry	Landsberg	Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
David	Klein	MarinHealth Medical Center
Martin	Entwistle	Marshall
Siri	Nelson	Marshall
Maia	Schneider	Marshall
Kristen	Pugh	MemorialCare Health System
Mihi	Lee	Mission Community Hospital
James	Theiring	Mission Community Hospital
Dianne	Wagner	Mission Community Hospital
Elaine	Batchlor	MLK Community Healthcare
Steven	Ciampa	MLK Community Healthcare
James	Seegert	Modern Building Company
Mark	Behl	NorthBay Health
Joe	D'Angina	NorthBay Health
Larry	Trilops	NorthBay Health
Nicholas	Beamon	OneTeam Leadership
Diane	Hansen	Palomar Health
Andrew	Tokar	Palomar Health
JoDee	Johnson	Plumas District Hospital
Richard	Yochum	Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center
Steve	Aleman	Prime Healthcare Services
Jonathan	Aquino	Prime Healthcare Services
Sunny	Bhatia	Prime Healthcare Services
Prem	Reddy	Prime Healthcare Services
Kavitha	Bhatia	Prime Healthcare Services Foundation
Laureen	Driscoll	Providence
Michelle	Mok	Redlands Community Hospital
John	Chapman	San Antonio Regional Hospital
Gigi	Dhillon	San Antonio Regional Hospital
Mark	Turner	San Bernardino Mountains Community Hospital
Julie	Myers	ScionHealth
Amber	Ter-Vrugt	Scripps Health
Susan	Green	Sharp HealthCare
Christopher	Howard	Sharp HealthCare
Elly	Maienschein	Sharp HealthCare
Brett	McClain	Sharp HealthCare
Tracy	Canales	Sierra View Medical Center
Melissa	Crippen	Sierra View Medical Center
Donna	Hefner	Sierra View Medical Center
Jeffery	Hudson-Covolo	Sierra View Medical Center
Ronald	Wheaton	Sierra View Medical Center
Rick	Shumway	Stanford Health Care
Nathan	Davis	Steve Clark & Associates
Richard	Baek	Studio City
Rachael	McKinney	Sutter Health
Warner	Thomas	Sutter Health
Louis	Ward	Tahoe Forest Hospital District
Sam	Roth	Tenet Healthcare Corporation
Doug	Padgett	Totally Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Ryan	Sader	Toyon Associates, Inc.
Gene	Ma	Tri-City Healthcare District
Janelle	Blanco	United Hospital Association (UHA)
Jennifer	Armendariz	Valley Children's Healthcare
Lynne	Ashbeck	Valley Children's Healthcare
Danielle	Barry	Valley Children's Healthcare
Shannon	Castle	Valley Children's Healthcare
William	Chaltraw	Valley Children's Healthcare
Joseph	Egan	Valley Children's Healthcare
Michael	Goldring	Valley Children's Healthcare
Tina	Mycroft	Valley Children's Healthcare
Amanda	Patterson	Valley Children's Healthcare
Todd	Suntrapak	Valley Children's Healthcare
Jane	Willson	Valley Children's Healthcare
Gustavo	Valdespino	Valley Presbyterian Hospital
Kimberly	Hartz	Washington Health
Luis	Abrishamian
Jared	Amerson
Jason	Aranda
Lynda	Baxter
Robert	Bonner
Kirk	Brantley
Cheryl	Calandrino
Joni	Chroman
Dru Ann	Copping
Percy	Cupen
Dave	DeWerff
Mary	Drees
Jill	Duplechan
Timothy	Feil
Troy	Gideon
Bill	Graham
Stacey	Graham
Rhonda	Hall
Patti	Hamaguchi
Heather	Hassinger
Garrett	Hayes
Brian	Hennebry
Amy	Herold
Richard	Hill
Katy	Hillenmeyer
Jim	Holmes
Mark	Jablonski
Brian	Jensen
Mina	Kang
Rebecca	Kendall
Julie	Kim
Daniel	Kim
Sanghun	Kim
Soo	Ko
Michael	Korpiel
Donald	Mabry
Constance	Martin
Sajen	Mathews
Kim	Meyers
Brooke	Miller
Alina	Moran
Mary Ann	Perez
Richard	Riggs
Jessica	Sadowski
Brett	Shinn
Sajid	Sindha
Lacey	Ventura
Thuy Khanh	Vu
Candice	Washilewski
Kathryn	Webster
Jill	Welton
Danielle	Westermann

Support for CHPAC is entirely voluntary. CHPAC raises funds from individuals who, acting in their personal capacities and on their own time, wish to support CHPAC’s activities. CHPAC collects information from supporters regarding their employment solely for purposes of compliance with campaign finance disclosure rules (although it reserves the right to use that information to track sources of support, as well). CHPAC conducts its activities independently of any hospital, and the reference to any organization in connection with any CHPAC supporter is for identification purposes only, and does not indicate endorsement by such organization of CHPAC or its activities.

What’s happening: At a workshop last month, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) offered important clarifications on upcoming climate change reporting regulations — including that not-for-profit entities will not recommended as “covered entities.”  

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What is happening:  The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is requesting feedback by Dec. 5 on draft all plan letters addressing updated policies for Medi-Cal managed care plan (MCP) coverage of skilled-nursing, subacute care , and intermediate care facility services.   

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