On September 10, 2026, Judge Quinn overruled OHCA’s demurrer, which argued that CHA lacked a beneficial interest and sufficient fact allegations to support public interest standing. Hearing Notes The Source attended a hearing on September 9, 2026, where CHA and OHCA appeared before the Superior Court of San Francisco to decide whether CHA’s second amended complaint would be dismissed under OHCA’s demurrer. On June 1, 2026, CHA filed a second amended complaint alleging OHCA’s spending targets are arbitrary, unlawful, and unconstitutional; claiming organizational standing; and alleging harm to hospitals being […]

On August 10th, 2026, the California Hospital Association (CHA) filed an Opposition to OHCA’s Demurrer to Second Amended Petition for Writ of Mandate. In it, CHA defended its position that both its members, and itself as an organization, have standing in being harmed by the spending targets. CHA refuted California’s Office of Health Care Affordability’s (OHCA’s) claim that harm would not arise until CHA members faced penalties for noncompliance, and that penalties would not be imposed for years later following an enforcement structure. CHA claimed that the enforcement structure was […]

Overview In April 2024, the Health Care Affordability Board at California’s Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) approved a statewide health care spending target, setting an annual per capita growth rate that health plans and providers are expected to meet in order to slow the rise in health care costs. Starting January 1, 2026, OHCA intended to begin to enforce spending targets, limiting annual increases in healthcare expenditures for most California hospitals to 3.5% and 1.8% for seven high-cost hospitals. By 2029, these targets drop to 3% and 1.6%, respectively. […]

This post is part of our ongoing coverage of the CHA v. OHCA lawsuit. See case page here. In this post, we examine the claims made by the California Hospital Association (CHA) in its recent lawsuit filed against the California Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) regarding OHCA’s plan to implement spending targets for hospitals (Case #  CPF25519370).  While many stakeholders, including CHA, the California Medical Association (CMA), and others, have expressed concerns about the spending targets announced by OHCA and the methodology used to establish them, dissatisfaction with an administrative […]

October 12 marked the deadline for the California Governor to sign or veto legislation passed during the 2025 California legislative session, so we now know the fate of this year’s healthcare legislation.  Much of the session’s efforts were focused on ensuring support of Californians in the face of massive federal cuts to social programs, Los Angeles wildfires, a potential budget deficit of over $12 billion, and the state’s highly publicized push to get Proposition 50 passed, which will redraw Congressional district maps.  Lawmakers introduced an ambitious slate of bills aimed […]

On October 15, 2025, the California Hospital Association (CHA) filed suit against the California Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) (and affiliated defendants) over claims that OHCA’s spending targets are arbitrary, irresponsible and single out hospitals, and will severely disrupt hospital services, starving hospitals of needed resources. The California Legislature created OHCA in 2022 and authorized it: to analyze healthcare markets for cost trends and drivers of spending, to set and enforce cost-growth benchmarks for the state, and to review and assess the impact of mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, and other […]

On June 12th, 2025, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed S0126 into law, in which the state aims to improve quality of care and healthcare access by stabilizing healthcare costs through Medicare-based price regulation, creating global hospital budgets, and establishing a more stable and high-quality state healthcare network.  The new law intends to do so through controlling costs for commercial insurance, managing hospital costs by using price caps, and overseeing and assessing administrative processes.  The law tasks the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) with accomplishing these objectives. Vermont’s current system for […]

Healthcare Cost Control State Health Care Cost Commissions: Their Priorities and How States’ Political Leanings, Commercial Hospital Prices, and Medicaid Spending Predict Their Establishment (The Milbank Quarterly) Brent D. Fulton, Daniel R. Arnold, Jordan M. Wolf, Richard M. Scheffler As healthcare costs continue to rise, states play an increasingly important role in addressing affordability and cost containment. In this Milbank Quarterly article, researchers examine the political and economic measures in the 17 states that have created Health Care Cost Commissions (HCCCs).  HCCCs are independent administrative bodies usually housed in the […]

New laws and rules requiring greater transparency into the behaviors and reimbursements of insurers have given employees and employers a clearer picture of where their healthcare dollars are going.  For example, the “Transparency in Coverage” rule, implemented in October 2020, required health plans and insurers to post rates they negotiate with providers and develop price transparency tools related to cost-sharing.  The “Consolidated Appropriations Act”, passed in 2021, requires Third Party Administrators (TPAs) to provide notice of other compensation they receive to plan sponsors and restricts “gag clauses” that would otherwise […]

In the last issue of California Legislative Beat, we examined some significant bills from year one of California’s 2023-2024 legislative term. Specifically, we focused on legislation that sought to make changes in healthcare competition, consolidation, and system reform. In part 2 of the 2023 session recap, we turn our attention to bills that aimed to tackle healthcare service and pharmaceutical costs, coverage, and price transparency.   Healthcare Costs and Coverage Californians can expect to be protected from surprising dental or emergency ground medical transportation bills soon. The legislature approved and […]