OCA advances hospital sector regulations and proposes adjusted targets for 11 high‑cost hospitals

The Office of Health Care Affordability presented its proposed hospital sector definition regulations and a recommended methodology for identifying disproportionately high‑cost hospitals and setting adjusted sector targets.

OCA staff said the proposed sector, drawn from Health and Safety Code section 12 50, would include general acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, special hospitals, chemical dependency recovery hospitals and psychiatric health facilities. CJ Howard, “Assistant Deputy Director over the Healthcare Spending Targets branch within the office of healthcare portability,” briefed the advisory committee on the agency’s plan to submit the regulation package to the Office of Administrative Law this spring.

The board‑level policy matter matters because hospitals account for a large share of healthcare spending and the sector designation allows a tailored target‑setting approach. OCA also proposed a five‑step methodology to identify…