The CHCF Blog

Welcome to The CHCF Blog, which features health policy insights from experts inside and outside CHCF. Get a round-up of the latest blog posts delivered right into your inbox every week.

Is Vertical Integration Bad for Health Care Consumers?

Xenia Shih Bion

Providers, Health Care Costs

Stories That Caught Our Attention This Week: Hospital systems across the nation are buying up physician practices, and policymakers are concerned about the impact.

California Takes Historic Step Toward Universal Coverage

Sandra R. Hernández

The budget passed by legislators in Sacramento shows that progress is possible in the drive to provide health coverage to all Californians.

Researchers: Medicaid Expansion Equals Better Coverage, Better Outcomes

Xenia Shih Bion

Stories That Caught Our Attention This Week: Research suggests residents of Medicaid expansion states experience improved health and well-being.

Medical Interpreters Bridge Crucial Gaps Between Patients and Providers

Heather McLellan

Patient-Centered Care, Workforce

Numerous laws require that people must have “meaningful access” to translation and interpretation services, but workforce shortages common in many health professions also exist within the medical linguistic arts.

Proposed Change to Federal Poverty Definition Would Cut Aid to Millions of Californians

Detailed estimates from UC-Berkeley Labor Center and the UCLA California Simulation of Insurance Markets (CalSIM) reveal important data about changes to federal poverty guidelines.

Dreaming of a Career in Health Care

Xenia Shih Bion

Stories That Caught Our Attention This Week: The first undocumented student to enter UCSF School of Medicine has graduated after pausing his medical training for one year to earn a master's degree in public health from Harvard.

PRIMEd for Health: California Medical Schools Focus on Underserved Communities

University of California medical leaders are cultivating a growing cadre of dedicated students and physicians working in a program that trains them in understanding and working with specific underserved populations.

Almanac Shows Slower National Health Spending Growth, But Major Challenges Persist

Kristof Stremikis

Health Care Costs

The newest CHCF Almanac notes that growth in national health spending slowed to 3.9% in 2017, most recent year with available data. It’s the slowest pace since 2013 and lower than the overall growth rate of the US economy.

Former NIMH Director Joins Newsom Team as Mental Health Adviser

Xenia Shih Bion

Behavioral Health

Stories That Caught Our Attention This Week: Former National Institute of Mental Health Director Thomas Insel will lead efforts to reorganize California’s mental health delivery system.

To Switch or Not to Switch — That Is the Question

The role of electronic health records is evolving in most California community health centers, a trend that is challenging managers to consider changing systems to keep up with changing needs.

When the Practitioner Becomes the Patient

Xenia Shih Bion

Serious Illness & End-of-Life Care

Stories That Caught Our Attention This Week: Kathy Brandt is a nationally recognized expert in palliative health care, but nothing has acquainted her more intimately with the subject than her decision to seek it for herself.

California Surgeon General Puts Spotlight on Childhood Trauma

Behavioral Health, Patient-Centered Care

California's first surgeon general wants the state's health care system to understand the impact that childhood trauma has on lifelong health outcomes. Nadine Burke Harris told us how she'll accomplish that.

Proposed Poverty Calculation Would Make More People Ineligible for Medicaid

Xenia Shih Bion

ACA/Health Reform, Medi-Cal, Payment & Financing

Stories That Caught Our Attention This Week: The Trump administration is seeking public comment on possible changes to the formula that sets the federal poverty guideline — an action that could reduce access to safety-net programs for millions.

Committed Physician Recruits Young People to Diversify Health Care Workforce

Heather Stringer

Jocelyn Freeman Garrick, a no-nonsense doctor from Oakland’s Highland Hospital, is on the lookout for youth from low-income families who could become future nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, and more.

California Journalist Moves from Writing Health Care News to Making It

After spending most of her career at the Los Angeles Times and Kaiser Health News, award-winning reporter Anna Gorman is now a public servant helping Los Angeles County residents who don't have health insurance.