California Health Care Foundation

This Almanac report, California’s Health Care Safety Net: Essential Access for Millions, presents data on the providers and programs that compose California’s system for providing health care to people with low incomes.

Health Care Costs 101: US Spending Growth Outpaces Economy provides a detailed look at national health care spending in 2019, just prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the number of active physicians increased by 21% between 2006 and 2018, and exceeded the 10% population growth, many areas in California face substantial shortages of primary care providers and specialists. This Almanac report describes the state's landscape for physician services.

California's health care industry employed more than 1.7 million people in 2019. Six Almanac quick reference guides provide data on wages, education, and workplaces for selected health professions.

Nursing is the single largest health profession in the state. These quick reference guides look at supply, demographics, education, distribution, and pay for registered nurses and licensed vocational nurses.

In 2019, California health insurers covered 32.7 million enrollees. This quick reference guide shows enrollment by regulator, market, and insurer. Data files are also available to download.

This Almanac report describes the state’s supply and use of long-term care services, Medicare and Medi-Cal spending on services, and quality of care.

The medical loss ratio (MLR) is the percentage of premium that health insurers spend on medical care and quality improvement activities. These resources include the most recent MLR database with data from 2012 to 2018, as well as documents that describe the MLR and how to use the database.

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.

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.

Workers who have health insurance through their employer bear a portion of the costs for their health care. This quick reference guide presents data from the 2018 California Employer Health Benefits Survey.

National health spending grew by 3.9% in 2017, slower than the 4.8% growth in 2016. This Almanac report, Health Care Costs 101: Spending Keeps Growing, details how much is spent on health care in the US, which services are purchased, and who pays.

California Health Insurers: Large Insurers Remain on Top provides a snapshot of the insurance market in California at the end of 2017. This Almanac report looks at market share, enrollment, financial performance, and consumer satisfaction.

All Californians should have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Californians with low incomes often face greater barriers to care than those with higher incomes. This Almanac quick reference guide provides a look at the data provided by the 2017 California Health Interview Survey.

Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, is the state’s health insurance program for Californians with low incomes, including children, persons with disabilities, seniors, and adults with low incomes. Get the latest data on this program, which covers one in three Californians.

About 8% of Californians met criteria for substance use disorder, but only 10% of people with a substance use disorder received any type of treatment. CHCF's first Almanac publication to address this topic provides an overview of substance use and addiction in the state.

Between 2006 and 2016, the number of visits to California's emergency departments increased by 44%. This Almanac report explores the data behind those visits.

According to data from physician surveys, California's medical doctors are unevenly distributed across the state, and new doctors aren't being trained in great enough numbers to address this imbalance.

Mental Health in California: For Too Many, Care Not There provides an overview of mental health in California: disease prevalence, suicide rates, supply and use of treatment providers, and mental health in the correctional system. This Almanac report also includes available data on spending and quality of care.

Many surgeries are performed in freestanding, or “same-day,” ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), whose numbers have increased dramatically over the past 11 years. However, due to a legal decision that removed reporting requirements for ASCs in the state, little is known about the volume of procedures, type of procedures, and financial operation of the vast majority of these facilities. This report looks at the most recent data on the supply, use, quality, and finances of freestanding ASCs in California.

This paper focuses on collaborations and innovative approaches developing among California's FQHCs, other safety-net providers, and agencies to meet the health care needs of populations with low incomes.

To slow the growth of health care spending and improve coordination and quality of care, providers and payers are working together to change how care is delivered and paid for.