The newsroom includes access to Council Connect, our twice-monthly newsletter on Hospital Council’s work. Key articles and issues of interest, along with the President’s Message, are included below.
Newsroom
Section Updates for October 20, 2025
CENTRAL VALLEY: San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties are cutting services due to budget constraints. San Luis Obispo’s 2025-26 budget cuts crisis intervention services, and Santa Barbara County’s cuts clinic and specialty care clinic services for people with unsatisfactory immigration status. Hospitals in San Luis Obispo are already seeing additional pressure to compensate, as patients’ needs remain constant even if funding is no longer available.
One Big Bill, 50 Different Impacts
It’s scarcely been three months since the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law, but its anticipated $911 billion cuts in Medicaid spending over the next decade have already started reshaping how California thinks about spending. Consider:
Upcoming Webinar Highlights AI’s Promise for Human Resources
On Oct. 29 from 9–10 a.m. (PT), Hospital Council members have an opportunity to explore how Lebra’s AI-powered platform helps health care leaders save time, strengthen team relationships, and foster a culture of care. Lebra seamlessly integrates with human resources information systems to support better connections with staff, board, and community members while advancing a culture of safety and support.
Prolucent’s Workforce Blueprint Helps Leaders Identify Workforce Opportunities, Design Strategy
Prolucent has joined the Hospital Council as a Corporate Associate Member, supporting hospitals across the state in building a more sustainable, flexible, and future-ready workforce.
Charting a Path Forward, Together
In late September, hospital leaders gathered in Lake Tahoe for the Hospital Council’s annual meeting, hosted in partnership with the Hospital Quality Institute. Before launching into a comprehensive program of patient safety and quality improvement discussions, the Hospital Council board convened. This annual event is a critical touchpoint for the board to plan for the year ahead — planning that has never been more important.
Section Updates for October 6, 2025
CENTRAL VALLEY: In mid-September, Hospital Council convened community benefit leaders from hospitals in Fresno, Madera, Tulare, and Kings counties to explore the potential enhanced collective impact of coordinating grant-making efforts around access to health care and food, with a focus on reducing food insecurity in the region. The group will meet again in late October to determine the collaborative’s next steps.
Hospitals Can’t Be Left in the Dark
Earlier this month, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued draft guidelines that would actively disincentivize utilities from pursuing long-term undergrounding programs — a direction that is dangerously out of touch with the realities facing California’s businesses, communities, and hospitals.
Section Updates for September 24, 2025
CENTRAL VALLEY: Hospitals are working collaboratively with the Kern County Public Health Department to address the region’s ambulance patient offload time (APOT), which was 50:32 according to the Emergency Medical Services Authority’s (EMSA’s) latest report. To help reduce APOTs, hospitals with emergency departments are encouraged to register for EMSA’s “APOT Audit Tool” and begin conducting monthly audits.
Webinar to Highlight AI’s Promise for Reducing Denials, Improving Payment Timeliness
On Oct. 22 from 1-2:30 p.m., Hospital Council members can learn about a new platform that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to align revenue cycle and utilization review teams, help reduce denials, speed up reimbursements, and strengthen payer collaboration — all while boosting operational efficiency and financial performance. Presented by corporate associate member Xsolis, the webinar […]
Memo Examines Impact of Federal Activity on Hospitals’ Equity Reporting, Supplier Diversity Requirements
Last week, the California Hospital Association (CHA) issued a memo that outlines federal executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies; the memo also explains how these orders intersect with California laws on hospital equity and disparity reporting, as well as supplier diversity requirements.
