CHA has developed new tools to help member hospitals comply with California’s fair pricing law for low-income, uninsured individuals. At the bottom of this page are samples of signage in various languages to illustrate how some hospitals are complying with the notice requirements. To view, click on any of the images.

Legislation enacted as part of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 authorized states to establish State Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Programs (Flex Program), under which certain facilities participating in Medicare can become Critical Access Hospitals (CAH). The following providers may be eligible to become CAHs:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule in the Federal Register this week that implements a provision of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. The rule prohibits Medicare from recouping overpayments from a provider that is pursuing an appeal from a Qualified Independent Contractor (QIC).

In anticipation of the availability of a vaccine for the H1N1 virus in the fall of 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) created two new HCPCS Codes for the vaccine itself (G9142), which is not payable by Medicare as it will be supplied at no cost, and for the administration (G9141), which is payable.