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 […]

After much debate fueled by disagreement over California’s $31.5 billion deficit, lawmakers and Governor Newsom have finalized the state’s 2023-2024 budget. The final budget bill outlines a $310 billion spending plan that includes $248.1 billion for Health and Human Services programs,[1] up from $245.69 billion in the May Revision.[2] Stakeholders can breathe a sigh of relief: core health programs will not face budget cuts, and California’s commitment to health care generally, and Medi-Cal in particular, remains strong. Consistent with the proposed budget in the May Revision, California continues to move […]

This month’s roundup of studies and reports highlights growing consolidation in health care as well as increasing costs of care. One report predicts higher medical costs in 2024—a trend that continued from the last two years. Another report highlights that policy efforts to reduce facility fees charged by hospitals are a potential avenue for controlling costs. Global capitation, in particular one value-based model utilized in Maryland, may help reduce the cost of specialty care delivery. Meanwhile, trends in the size of physician practices and recent M&A activity are indicators of […]

In the previous issue of the California Legislative Beat, we examined healthcare bills introduced in the 2023-2024 legislative term that target healthcare consolidation and competition in California (see 2023 California Healthcare Bills – Part 1). In this second part of the two-part series, we explore some newly proposed bills that seek to increase access to care, control costs, and improve transparency in data and prices.   System Reform and Access California is a leader in innovative healthcare policy and initiatives, particularly to increase patients access to care while lowering overall […]