California Association of Public Hospitals & Health Systems
The California Association of Public Hospitals & Health Systems is committed to continuing giving service that improves the delivery process of the health care with an aim of achieving efficiency, well-coordination, and patient-centered initiatives. CAPH is a non-profit association successful legislatively in the provision of policy development, analysis of health care safety net for every Californian by undertaking a specific financing system and health reform. The California Association of Public Hospitals & Health Systems (CAPH) shows these efforts by ensuring that it is on the path to implementing well-rooted components of electronic health records (EHRs). California public hospitals have enhanced its current efforts to work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to play a unique and critical role in diverse, serving safety-net communities (Jonas, Goldsteen & Goldsteen, 2011). Considering the public hospital safety net in the provision of high quality care to the millions of patients, it is vital that the hospitals maximize the federal incentive payments with an aim of improving the patient care through a well-coordinated system of health information technology (HIT).
The California Association of Health Services at Home (CAHSAH) is a friend to CAPH on the benchmark that it epitomizes effective and successful provision of health care through more than 500 members and over 840 locations of licensed home health agencies, home infusion pharmacies, providers of private personal care services, hospices, and other health services and products providers in homes. CAHSAH further advances the CAPH’s legislation on ABx1 1 which advocates for the expansion of health care coverage to 1.7 million adults in California. The services of the Association are supportive housing and achieving critical health care improving outcomes (Jonas, Goldsteen & Goldsteen, 2011). It further encompasses the improvement health care outcomes among the homeless beneficiaries and those other beneficiaries who are frequent hospital users by ensuring an engagement of the beneficiaries on a continuous basis, allowing for self-improvement and promoting healthy behaviors.
The second friend to CAPH is the California Society of Plastic Surgeons. The society is considered a staunch supporter of the ACA initiatives in terms of providing health care within its legislative framework by ensuring invaluable resource for the patient in need of information with regards to plastic surgery and individuals who require the expertise of its member surgeons all over the state. The California Society of Plastic Surgeons provides strong advocacy for the implementation of the Assembly Bill 1653 which grants support to the “concept of using a hospital fee to ensure provision of increased Medi-Cal reimbursement” as argued by Jones (2010). As the largest State Plastic Surgery Society with 450 members in U.S., its mission is in line with the provisions of ACA concerning advancing the profession of plastic surgery on a platform of continuous educational activities, give advice to the public by ensuring direct patient education and act as advocates for patients. CSPS monitors legislation affecting the practice of medicine, particularly those pertaining to plastic surgery and maintains its delegates to the California Medical Association (CMA).
The California Association of Health Facilities (CAHF) is another friend of CAPH and was founded in 1950 as a non-profit professional association to provide service as a statewide organization for the long-term care providers. The CAHF’s proprietary long-term care facilities serve a broad spectrum of medical needs in such settings of skilled nursing, mental health, subacute, intermediate care, and services for individuals with developmental disabilities (Leichter, 2014).
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is regarded as a foe to the CAPH’s scope of health care provision and legislation initiatives across the state of California (Jones, 2010). The 2 million-member union advocates for the dignity and worth of health care workers through creation of a more just and humane society through measure such as strikes and boycotts which eventually hinder the effective provision of health care services to the Californians.
California Medical Association is the second enemy of CAPH as it prioritizes above anything else their members. The framework of CAPH is basically patient-centered while the California Medical Association dedicates its effort to serve its member physicians through an inclusive program of regulatory, legal, social and economic advocacy (Jones, 2010).
The 1901 founded California Labor Federation; AFL-CIO is another foe to the CAPH legislative agenda. The federation has been in the frontline in playing the role of coordinating labor union activities across the state. It has achieved the restoration of daily overtime pay, increasing the minimum wage and passing of the state's first Paid Family Leave law (California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, 2012).
References
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. (2012). California labor news: Official publication of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. San Francisco, CA: The Federation.
Jonas, S., Goldsteen, R. L., & Goldsteen, K. (2011). An introduction to the U.S. health care system. New York: Springer.
Jones, M. S. (2010). Letter to The Honorable Christine Kehoe. Califonria Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems. Sacramento: CAPH. Retrived on 20th March, 2016. From http://caph.org/publications/sen-christine-kehoe/
Leichter, H. M. (2014). Health policy reform in America: Innovations from the states. Armonk, Ny: M.E. Sharpe.
