Last week, the Hospital Council Board of Directors held its first meeting of the year, setting a strong tone around priorities, advocacy, and collaboration in what is shaping up to be a challenging environment for hospitals at all levels of government.
Priorities across Hospital Council’s regions include:
- Continuing to improve ambulance patient offload times
- Promoting consistent policy interpretation and application by building and deepening relationships with the California Department of Public Health and the Department of Health Care Access and Information regional offices
- Maximizing the resources available to hospitals by working with counties as they navigate strains on their public health budgets
- Engaging with Medi-Cal managed care plans to address access, payment, and operational issues
The board also heard from the California Hospital Association (CHA) on:
- The latest developments around state ballot initiatives
- The status and outlook for the Hospital Quality Assurance Fee Program
- The growing challenges posed by state and federal budget pressures
These discussions reinforced the importance of disciplined strategy, early engagement, and clear alignment across the field. Close coordination and collaboration between the OneTeam (Hospital Council & CHA), and our members is not just helpful — it is essential.
In addition to coordination at the regional, state, and federal levels, Hospital Council’s team will continue hands-on engagement with 200+ hospital members to help ensure they can meet the health care needs of the communities they serve, especially amid workforce pressures, budget constraints, and regulatory complexity.
In a time of heightened scrutiny, fiscal pressure, and policy uncertainty, working together with one unified voice is more important than ever.
More to come as these priorities become actions in the months ahead.