California HealthCare Foundation – Supporting ideas and innovations to improve health care for all Californians.

Uninsured & Underserved

California's uninsured population is diverse. Different segments face a variety of barriers to obtaining coverage; efforts to expand coverage must take into account the relationships among employment, income, ethnicity, citizenship status, and premium costs that influence the level of health coverage in the state. Here we describe the uninsured in California and analyze coverage expansion efforts.

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California's Uninsured

December 2011

Who are the uninsured? This annual Almanac report offers a picture of those who lack insurance, providing data on their income, age, ethnicity, eligibility for public insurance, and work status.

Innovating for More Affordable Health Care

August 2011

This supplement to the Stanford Social Innovation Review offers perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for innovators working to improve quality and cut costs.

The Crucial Role of Counties in the Health of Californians: An Overview

March 2011

In the end, all health care is local. This report looks at the crucial role of California's 58 counties in providing a range of services for our most vulnerable residents.

California's Health Care Safety Net: Facts and Figures

October 2010

Public health care programs handle the unmet medical needs of low-income, uninsured individuals and families. This Almanac report offers data on patients served, programs offered, and sources of funding.

Retail Dental Clinics: A Viable Model for the Underserved?

November 2009

This feasibility report, based on interviews with dentists, other experts, consumer surveys, and published reports, examines factors that would support or inhibit the emergence of retail dental clinics in California and elsewhere.

County Programs for the Medically Indigent in California

October 2009

California's counties have health services programs for uninsured adults who cannot afford care. This fact sheet gives an overview of the county programs, while attachments provide both summaries and an interactive spreadsheet.

California's Health Care Coverage Initiative: County Innovations Enhance Indigent Care

September 2009

Ten California counties are redesigning care and improving access for low-income residents, using funds from the Health Care Coverage Initiative component of the state's Medicaid hospital financing waiver.

Briefing — Preliminary Findings on The Health Care Coverage Initiative

June 11, 2009

This briefing presented findings from an evaluation of a 2005 Medicaid hospital financing waiver to expand health coverage for low-income, uninsured people in 10 California counties.

Understanding Which Health Services Are Valued by Uninsured Workers

March 2009

This study explores how to improve health care services for low-income workers. The study asks consumers how important a service is versus how satisfied they are in that same area, and looks for gaps where a market opportunity might exist.

Frequent Users of Health Services Initiative

October 2008

This five-year, $10-million project focused on improving the health outcomes for frequent users of health services and avoiding unnecessary use of emergency rooms.

Step by Step: Local Coverage Expansion Initiative

September 2008

Over five years, this CHCF initiative invested $5 million to support local efforts in creating health insurance programs for Californians who were ineligible for existing public programs such as Medi-Cal and Healthy Families.

Preventable Hospitalizations among Medi-Cal Beneficiaries and the Uninsured

December 2007

Building on a 2004 CHCF report, this study finds that between 1994 and 2002, those in Medi-Cal managed care were hospitalized far less often than those in Medi-Cal fee-for-service, suggesting a significant quality gap.

County Innovations in Financing Care for California's Medically Indigent Adults

November 2007

Based on a survey of county representatives, this issue brief attempts to document the experience of select California counties in providing health services to low-income and indigent people with no other source of care.

Designing Coverage: Uninsured Californians Weigh the Options

July 2007

This issue brief offers insights on the values and coverage priorities held by a subset of uninsured Californians who might be directly affected by coverage expansion policy proposals.


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