All Californians deserve the opportunity to reach their best health. Health equity means ensuring people have what they need to be healthy. Yet too many Californians face steep barriers to care, based on who they are, where they live, and how much they earn. We invest in programs, research, and policies that remove those barriers and improve the health care system for everyone.
Our Approach
CHCF is working to make the health care system more fair and inclusive for all Californians. We drive change through multiple strategies, including using data to monitor inequity and improvement, developing policies and best practices that remove barriers to access, ensuring the workforce reflects California’s diversity, and supporting organizations that foster community resilience.
Why It Matters
California is one of the most culturally diverse states in the nation — and one where health care disparities exist. These aren’t gaps that close on their own.
The stakes are significant. When people cannot get the care they need because of the size of their paycheck or the language they speak, it leads to more preventable illness, increases costs across the system, and undermines the well-being of entire communities. When we make the health care system work better for those Californians facing the biggest challenges, we make it more effective for everyone.
Examples of Our Work
- 2026 CHCF California Health Policy Survey: CHCF surveyed a representative sample of Californians about health care affordability. While affordability is a pervasive problem across groups, findings showed that Latino/x Californians and those living in the rural north often face greater affordability struggles compared to Californians overall.
- Regional Market Reports: CHCF has conducted research on regional markets across California, including the rural north region of Shasta and Lassen Counties, which offer data and insights on community health needs, access challenges, and population health outcomes across the region.
- Listening to Black Californians: CHCF commissioned a major study on Black Californians’ experiences of racism and health care and identified ways to improve the health system so that it would serve them better.
- California Latino Health Almanac: CHCF created a comprehensive report accompanied by an online dashboard and policy recommendations to highlight key opportunities to improve Latino/x health.
- Advancing Health Equity: A Recommended Health Equity Framework for Accountability in Medicaid: CHCF partnered with the National Committee for Quality Assurance to develop a standard framework for health equity measurement for state Medicaid agencies.
- Pulse of Change: CHCF funded eight organizations to develop and implement sustainable interventions to create a safer and stronger health system for Black Californians.
- Advancing California’s Community Health Worker & Promotor Workforce: CHCF develops tools and provides technical assistance to integrate community health workers and promotores in Medi-Cal care delivery and coordination.
- “How Do I…” Campaign: CHCF collaborated with the California Black Health Network to develop resources to help Black Californians navigate the health care system and exercise their rights. Campaign resources are available on the California Black Health Network’s website.
- Community resilience: CHCF supports statewide and regional organizations to build under- resourced communities’ ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.