Regional Markets

California’s large size means that health care is organized, delivered, and financed differently throughout the state. CHCF commissioned studies of seven large and diverse regional markets that provide details of local health care systems and identify common themes and emerging issues that influence how Californians receive their health care.

Stepping Up to the Plate: Federally Qualified Health Centers Address Growing Demand for Care

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.

Many Routes to the Top: Efforts to Improve Care Quality, Coordination, and Costs Through Provider Collaborations

Payment & Financing

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.

Arranged Marriages: The Evolution of ACO Partnerships in California

Center for Studying Health System Change

Expanding Health Coverage, Health Care Costs, Payment & Financing

Accountable care organizations are springing up across California in an effort to reduce costs and improve care. How have ACO contracting arrangements evolved regionally?

Ready or Not: Are Health Care Safety-Net Systems Prepared for Reform?

Center for Studying Health System Change

Expanding Health Coverage, Medi-Cal

A study finds that even with new federal resources to help, communities with weaker safety-net systems are lagging in preparations for health reform.

Empire Building by the Bay: Consolidating Control of Hospitals and Physician Organizations in the Bay Area

In the San Francisco Bay Area, health care empires are being built as providers form affiliations with other providers and with health plans. This interactive infographic provides a county-by-county look at which health players are consolidating control of the market.

San Francisco Bay Area: Major Players Drive Regional Network Development

Ha Tu, Len Finocchio, Annie Doubleday, Kristie Liao

Expanding Health Coverage, Workforce, Payment & Financing

In the San Francisco Bay Area, large players are consolidating control of hospitals and physician organizations. This issue brief documents the region's fast-evolving health care marketplace.

Fresno: As Uninsured Rate Falls, Capacity Constraints Grow

Mathematica Policy Research

Payment & Financing

Insurance coverage and financial stability have greatly improved in the Fresno region, but capacity and access challenges have grown.

Orange County: Changing Market Fuels New Models of Provider Collaboration

Mathematica Policy Research

Payment & Financing

Orange County has largely recovered from the economic downturn, yet socioeconomic variation persists, and Medi-Cal coverage has spiked.

Riverside/San Bernardino: Despite Large Medi-Cal Expansion, Many Uninsured Remain

Mathematica Policy Research

Payment & Financing

Though the economy in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties continues to recover from the 2008 recession, high rates of uninsured remain.

Sacramento: Pressures to Control Costs Persist Alongside Growing Capacity and Access Challenges

Mathematica Policy Research

Payment & Financing

The Sacramento region's health care sector has been mostly stable, but capacity constraints and access challenges remain. This report provides a snapshot.

Los Angeles: Thriving or Surviving in a Fragmented Market

Mathematica Policy Research

Payment & Financing

Los Angeles is a large, densely populated, racially and ethnically diverse county with wide income variation, traits that contribute to a fragmented health care market.

San Diego: Major Providers Pursue Countywide Networks and New Patient Care Models

Mathematica Policy Research

Payment & Financing

San Diego hospitals remain stable, but face increasing cost pressures from payers emphasizing provider affordability and value.