According to the Office of the Actuary for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicare reimbursement to California hospitals amounted to almost $58 billion in 2004, comprising more than one-third of all Medicare spending in the state for that year. In addition to the volume and monetary value of its reimbursement, CMS through the California Department of Health Services, and through its deeming organizations, remains an extremely important regulator of hospitals.

Because of the influence that Medicare and CMS have on California’s hospitals, CHA is consistently engaged with CMS and with Congress to ensure the adequacy of Medicare reimbursement, and to provide the federal government with California hospitals’ perspectives on policy and payment changes.