Hospitals

Heading for an Acute Crisis?

Glenn Melnick, Susan Maerki

Payment & Financing

This Issue Brief updates prior estimates of utilization, costs, and revenue in California hospitals through the end of 2022.

Hospital Closures, Service Cuts Loom for Some Communities. The State May Step In to Help.

After Madera Community Hospital closed earlier this year, other hospitals have signaled they are struggling financially. Legislators are considering several solutions to funnel more money to hospitals to prevent them from cutting services or closing.

Reaching for Health Equity

Aisling Carroll

Health Equity, Workforce

In the Racial Equity Community of Practice, representatives of safety net providers collaborate on ways to uproot the systemic structures that enable racial and ethnic health inequities to persist.

Presumptive Eligibility: Creating a Pathway to Ongoing Medi-Cal Coverage

Two studies point to opportunities for California to enhance presumptive eligibility and hospital presumptive eligibility so that both processes become pathways to ongoing Medi-Cal coverage.

2022 Edition — California Hospitals

California’s 337 general acute care (GAC) hospitals discharged 2.8 million patients and had 40.1 million outpatient visits in 2020. This quick reference guide provides an overview of the state’s GAC hospitals, including number of beds, use of services, and selected financial measures.

New Name, New Responsibilities for Key State Health Care Agency

Barbara Feder Ostrov, Sequoia Hall

Workforce, Health Care Costs

A conversation with Elizabeth Landsberg, director of the California Department of Health Care Access and Information.

Frontline Nurses Are Burning Out. This Digital Health Start-Up Is Trying to Change That

Laudio aims to help managers reduce high turnover rates among nurses and other frontline health care workers — a longstanding problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

At-Home Monitoring Creates Virtual Hospital for UCI Health

Aisling Carroll

Some patients who are showing improvement as they recover from COVID-19 or certain other conditions can leave UCI Health's brick-and-mortar hospital early if vitals and symptoms can be tracked at home using telehealth technology.

Amid Pandemic Stress, Kern Medical Steps Up Recruitment of Health Care Workers

February 17, 2022

Aisling Carroll

Workforce, Behavioral Health

Kern Medical has ramped up efforts to recruit new employees at every level and to fill the training pipeline with future health care workers.

COVID-19 Is Reshaping California’s Health Workforce

February 1, 2022

Avram Goldstein

A conversation with Joanne Spetz, director of UCSF’s Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies.

2021 Edition — California Emergency Departments

California’s emergency departments (EDs) provide a critical source of health care to people with acute medical conditions or who have experienced trauma or injury. EDs are expected to treat all patients regardless of their ability to pay. California Emergency Departments: A Critical Source of Care looks at the most recent data on supply, visits, and wait times, as well as trends from 2009 to 2019.

Markets or Monopolies? Considerations for Addressing Health Care Consolidation in California

Katherine L. Gudiksen, Amy Y. Gu, Jaime S. King

Health Care Costs

Most California health care markets are highly concentrated, with hospital markets in particular approaching monopoly levels in many counties. Studies show that mergers of health care companies result in increased prices for services. This report compiles evidence about consolidation and provides potential considerations for policymakers.

Hospitals in California’s Central Valley Flooded with COVID-19 Patients

September 14, 2021

Heather Tirado Gilligan

Stories That Caught Our Attention: Health care workers and public health agencies are overwhelmed.

The Financial Impact of COVID-19 on California Hospitals: January 2020 Through June 2021

Glenn Melnick, Susan Maerki

Health Care Costs

While hospital utilization fell dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, California's hospitals still recorded nearly $3.5 billion in net revenue in 2020, with Medi-Cal providing the greatest revenue increase.

Medical Respite Care Bridges Critical Gap for Californians Without Housing

August 25, 2021

Homelessness & Health Care, Medi-Cal

Recuperative care provides comprehensive services while reducing costs and hospital readmissions.