California is the most racially diverse state in the country, and addressing health disparities experienced by people of color is critically important. This Almanac report shows that people of color face barriers to accessing health care, often receive suboptimal treatment, and are most likely to experience poor outcomes in the health care system.
More

New & Noteworthy

CHCF Blog

Health Affairs’ Rural Health Issue Has Special Relevance to California

December 9, 2019
Xenia Shih Bion
Behavioral Health, Maternal Health, Providers, Workforce
Stories That Caught Our Attention: Millions of Americans in rural areas face significant barriers to care and in almost every state are burdened with higher mortality rates than people in urban areas.
Publication

eConsult for Psychiatrists Treating Perinatal Women with Serious Mental Illnesses

December 2019
Emily C. Dossett, Christopher Benitez, Natalia Garcia
Behavioral Health, Maternal Health, Patient-Centered Care
Nearly one in five of California’s pregnant and postpartum women suffer from depression, anxiety, or other severe illness such as bipolar disorder (perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, or PMADs). A pilot project sought to increase capacity of psychiatrists in Los Angeles County to provide medication management to women with severe PMADs.
Collection

Expanding the Role of Nurse Practitioners

Providers, Workforce, Behavioral Health
In 2019, the California Future Health Workforce Commission released a plan to address the state’s shortages of primary care and behavioral health providers. One of the Commission’s top recommendations was to maximize the role of nurse practitioners (NPs) and to expand their practice authority. In doing so, they noted that California is 1 of 28 states — and the only western state — that restricts NPs by requiring them to work with physician oversight.
Publication

2019 Edition — Maternity Care in California

November 2019
Jen Joynt
Maternal Health
Nearly half a million babies were born in California in 2018, representing one in eight of all births in the US. While the number of births has declined since 2000, childbirth remains the number one reason for hospitalization in the state. Maternity Care in California: A Bundle of Data provides an overview of the delivery of maternity care in California and compares the state’s performance by demographic groups, over time, and provides a comparison to national numbers.
CHCF Blog

Health Care System Accepting New Math: Housing = Health

November 18, 2019
Xenia Shih Bion
Health Care Costs
Stories That Caught Our Attention: The nation's largest health insurer is trying a new strategy -- improving care for Medicaid enrollees with complex medical problems by providing social assistance, including housing.
Publication

Left Behind in California: Comparing Community Paramedicine Policies Across States

November 2019
Janet Coffman, Connie Kwong
Providers, Workforce
This overview of state laws governing community paramedicine across the US can inform California's efforts to build upon its ongoing pilot community paramedicine project. Read the brief and explore an interactive map of the US to learn about legislation in each state.
Publication

Help Wanted: Californians’ Views and Experiences of Serious Illness and End-of-Life Care

October 2019
PerryUndem Research/Communication, Jen Joynt
Serious Illness & End-of-Life Care
In 2019, CHCF commissioned a statewide survey to better understand the type of medical care and services Californians would prefer to receive if they had a serious illness or if they were approaching the end of life, and to explore the experiences of those actually dealing with these issues themselves or with loved ones. This report shares selected findings from the survey, including key differences by race/ethnicity and income level.
Publication

Expanding Payer and Provider Participation in Data Exchange

November 2019
Manatt Health
Data Exchange
This report outlines a spectrum of policy, contracting, and financing levers available to states working to advance interoperability, with a special focus on California's potential paths forward.
Publication

Covered California Dashboards

November 2019
Katherine Wilson
Insurance Coverage, ACA/Health Reform
These dashboards centralize basic information about Covered California enrollment, coverage, and premiums. The dashboards sort the information by county, by region, and by date.
Join the CHCF mailing list to stay up-to-date on news from the foundation.
Sign Up
A Service of the California Health Care Foundation
November 26, 2019

CALmatters | California Goes Full Tilt in Trying to Fix Physician Shortage
November 26, 2019

Modern Healthcare | Sutter Health Postpones Financial Filing
November 26, 2019

Washington Post | CDC Recommended That Migrants Receive Flu Vaccine, But CBP Rejected the Idea