The California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) is conducting a statewide stakeholder engagement efforts to better understand the factors affecting health care access and service stability throughout California.
What is the Healthcare Access Stability Unit?
In the 2026 Budget Act, the California Legislature appropriated funding for HCAI to establish the Healthcare Access Stability Unit (HASU) to evaluate health care access risks, support early identification of service disruptions, and coordinate strategies to help preserve access to care across California.
Learn more about the legislative mandate:
4140-001-0001—For support of Department of Health Care Access and Information
(7) Of the amount appropriated in Schedule (3), $10,000,000 is available to establish a health care access stability unit to evaluate hospitals’ strategic importance to their communities, assist in planning for maintaining critical services in the event of a hospital’s financial distress, and provide technical assistance to currently distressed hospitals in returning to fiscal sustainability.
Stakeholder Engagement Efforts
Over the course of several weeks, HCAI conducted stakeholder key informant interviews and issued an online survey.
These efforts provided an an opportunity for stakeholders to share their experiences, challenges, and recommendations regarding health care access, workforce pressures, financial sustainability, service delivery, and community health needs.
HCAI is evaluating the input received to inform the plan for the stability unit’s operation going forward.
Have Questions
Email our team at stability.unit@hcai.ca.gov