Attorney General Bonta Approves Expansion of Healthcare Services in Riverside County

By

Soraya Marashi

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced conditional approval of changes to Riverside Community Health Foundation’s (RCHF) articles of incorporation that will help the nonprofit expand its services in Riverside County. The approval allows RCHF to put more resources and funding into primary and preventive care; improve public health and health equity outcomes through programs that address social, economic, and environmental factors in the community; and use its charitable assets to address health and wellness care needs within the greater Riverside metropolitan area.

“This expansion of health and wellness services in Riverside County will improve health access for underserved families, seniors, and people living with chronic health issues,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Riverside Community Health Foundation is going to bring preventative care and programs supporting health and wellness to people who need it most. I’m proud to support this much-needed expansion of healthcare services.”

RCHF is a nonprofit that funds, develops, and operates local health centers with the goal of improving community health and well-being in Riverside County. Until now, RCHF’s articles of incorporation have restricted much of its contributions to general acute care hospitals in its service area. In recent years, RCHF has also seen a steady reduction in nonprofit hospitals qualified to receive its funding. Approval will allow RCHF to grow its service area while funding programs such as outpatient clinic care, community education programs, and community clinics.

Under California law, proposed amendments to a nonprofit hospital transaction must be approved by the Attorney General. In making the decision, among other factors, the Attorney General reviews the potential effects the amendment may have on the availability or accessibility of healthcare services to the affected community. An investigation by the Attorney General’s Healthcare Rights and Access (HRA) Section determined that the amendments to RCHF’s articles of incorporation would improve access and availability of healthcare services in Riverside County.

As part of the Attorney General’s conditional approval, RCHF will be required to:

  • Maintain a strategic planning process on a four-year cycle;
  • Meet expanded transparency and reporting requirements, including providing greater detail about RCHF’s annual operating costs in order to allow the public to assess the organization’s cost efficiency;
  • Expand the nonprofit’s service area to serve the greater Riverside metropolitan area in its entirety; and
  • Prohibit discrimination on the basis of protected personal characteristics.

HRA works proactively to increase and protect the affordability, accessibility, and quality of healthcare in California. HRA’s attorneys monitor and contribute to various areas of the Attorney General’s healthcare work, including nonprofit healthcare transactions; consumer rights; anticompetitive consolidation in the healthcare market; anticompetitive drug pricing; privacy issues; civil rights, such as reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ healthcare-related rights; and public health work on tobacco, e-cigarettes, and other products.

A copy of the conditional approval letter is available here.