Search Results for: "Continuity Planning"

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Safety-Net Hospitals Need Congress to Protect Patients

This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.

It’s easy to be distracted by the news coming out of Washington, D.C., these days, much of which has little to do with sound policies that advance hospitals’ efforts to care for their patients. But on the issue of Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, we cannot afford to lose focus in our fight against devastating funding cuts to hospitals that serve the uninsured and underinsured.

This issue tops our current federal advocacy priorities because it is time sensitive: the DSH cuts were scheduled to take effect on Oct. 1 but were briefly delayed by the current temporary spending bill. When that measure expires on Nov. 21, unless the cuts are eliminated or further delayed, they will take effect immediately.

Now is the time for a full-court press urging Congress to continue this vital source of funding for safety-net hospitals.

Medicaid DSH cuts were adopted as part of the Affordable Care Act, on the assumption that the number of uninsured Americans would decrease more than it has. In California, 2.9 million people remain without health insurance. Those patients are disproportionately served by our safety-net hospitals, which rely heavily on DSH payments to offset the cost of the uncompensated care they provide.

As planned, the cuts will be unsustainable for California’s safety-net hospitals, reducing DSH allotments in the state by $500 million in 2020 and by about $950 million a year from 2021 through 2025.

So far, members of Congress have been willing to delay these drastic reductions while millions remain without coverage, but the time has come to once again impress upon Congress the essential nature of DSH payments to safety-net hospitals and their patients. To that end, CHA is leading an effort to press the California congressional delegation to sign a letter that urges House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to support eliminating the cuts for another two years. 

Next week, we’ll be sending an Advocacy Alert to member hospitals, asking you to contact your representative about signing the letter. This is an issue that all hospitals should care about — because cuts of this magnitude will jeopardize access to care for millions.

For lawmakers to support a policy that diminishes access to care for California’s most vulnerable patients is unacceptable. It is incumbent upon all of us to let them know that.

— Carmela

CMS Issues CY 2020 OPPS Proposed Rule

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its calendar year (CY) 2020 outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) proposed rule, including significant proposals related to price transparency and changes to the hospital area wage index (AWI). Specifically, CMS would carry over hospital AWI policies proposed under the federal fiscal year 2020 inpatient PPS (IPPS) proposed rule, applying the finalized inpatient policies to outpatient payments.

Performance Improvements Underway for CDPH Licensing and Certification Program

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At a recent CHA Certification and Licensing Committee meeting, representatives from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) shared updates about their work to transform the program. The update responded to CHA’s concerns about CDPH’s continued steep increases in hospital licensing fees, which increased on July 1 up to 20% statewide and up to 35% in Los Angeles County, for a fifth consecutive year of fee increases.

CHA Urges Department of Managed Health Care to Clarify Exceptions to New Licensing Requirements

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Yesterday, CHA submitted comments on the Department of Managed Health Care’s (DMHC) draft guidance implementing its recently finalized Knox-Keene licensure regulation. The regulation greatly expands the types of financial arrangements requiring a license, and hospitals are encouraged to consult with counsel to determine how the new requirements will impact their organization.

CMS Approves Cal MediConnect Extension Through 2022

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The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) last week received federal approval of a three-year extension of its Cal MediConnect (CMC) program, which provides coordinated services to patients who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

Cal/OSHA Adopts Emergency Regulations on Wildfire Smoke Exposure

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Last week, the Department of Industrial Relations’ (DIR) Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board approved an emergency regulation aimed at protecting outdoor workers from the effects of wildfire smoke. The regulation is pending with the Office of Administrative Law and is expected to be approved and take effect in early August. 

Patients Safe, Health Facilities Operational After Major Earthquakes

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Patients at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital and Bella Sera Skilled Nursing Facility are safe, and both facilities are fully operating except for minor repairs after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on July 5 and a 6.4 magnitude tremor the day before, both centered near Ridgecrest. After the first quake on July 4, the critical access hospital’s patients were evacuated, but the Emergency Department continued to triage incoming patients, directing them to other facilities as needed. Following the even larger earthquake on July 5, Bella Sera Skilled Nursing Facility lost power and worked with local, regional and state partners to prepare for evacuation, which ultimately wasn’t necessary.

PG&E Expands, Enhances Wildfire Safety Efforts

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Given the continued and growing threat of extreme weather, and as an additional precautionary measure following the 2017 and 2018 wildfires, PG&E is enhancing and expanding its Community Wildfire Safety Program to further reduce wildfire risks and help keep customers and communities safe.

Legislative Homestretch: Where We Stand

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Lawmakers returned from their summer break this week to finish out the legislative session, which ends in four short (or long, depending on how you see it) weeks. By Sept. 13, bills need to be voted on and sent to the Governor, who then has 30 days to act on them.

As we enter the homestretch, here’s where we stand on some of this year’s top priorities:

Setting a Course for Seismic Policy

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Last week, this message highlighted that hospitals and their staff would be available to all who might need them while the rest of us took a break for the long holiday weekend. And, of course, that’s exactly what happened when two major earthquakes struck the town of Ridgecrest in the span of just two days.