COVID-19

Study Reveals Staggering Toll of Being Black in America

Researchers report in JAMA that racial inequities led to 1.6 million excess deaths in the Black population over 22 years.

Medicaid’s Continuous Coverage Requirement Is Over. What’s Next for California?

Medi-Cal, Health Equity

Using best policies and practices, California has the opportunity to ensure that the Medi-Cal eligibility and enrollment system always prioritizes keeping people covered.

Partners in Vaccination

Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California

Older Adults with Complex Needs

This community-based project leveraged longitudinal, trusting relationships of care managers with their medically fragile clients enrolled in Medi-Cal to try to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates. Although the project did not accomplish this goal, it offers insights into challenges and potential opportunities to improve the delivery of preventive health care among similarly vulnerable populations.

Helping Californians Dial In to Equitable Health Access

October 11, 2022

Telehealth, Health Equity

A conversation with telehealth policy expert Mei Wa Kwong of the Center for Connected Health Policy.

Ensuring Equity in Telehealth

August 29, 2022

Health Equity, Telehealth

Telehealth could extend care to millions of underserved people — but only if they can access it.

Beyond the Doctor: Helping Trusted Care Managers Increase Vaccination Rates

Heather Stringer

Older Adults with Complex Needs, Medi-Cal

Researchers partner with community-based organizations to reach homebound, older adults at risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

San Diego Health Centers Fight Provider Burnout by Fostering Workplace Friendships

Aisling Carroll

The program was supported by the California Improvement Network, a community of health care organizations that promotes ideas for better care delivery.

A Qualitative Study of Expanded Methadone Take-Home Access in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Behavioral Health

In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, federal guidance permitted greater access to methadone "take-home doses" for people in treatment for opioid use disorder. This paper reviews the treatment experiences of patients and providers at an opioid treatment program in San Francisco.

New Technology Is Transforming Care in California’s Safety Net

Silvina Martinez

Telehealth, Behavioral Health, Health Equity

Federally Qualified Health Centers in California overcame language barriers, uneven digital access, and workflow changes to increase telehealth visits for primary care from 2% of visits to 61% during the pandemic.

The Prognosis for Telehealth

Telehealth, Health Equity, Medi-Cal

The future of primary care could be a hybrid model of in-person and telehealth care, including both phone and video visits.

California Spent Millions to Boost COVID-19 Vaccination Rates of Medi-Cal Members — But They Lag Even More

Medi-Cal, Homelessness & Health Care

Gaps in COVID-19 vaccination rates among the state’s Medi-Cal population persist. Five Medi-Cal plans still have vaccination rates under 50%.

Frontline Nurses Are Burning Out. This Digital Health Start-Up Is Trying to Change That

Laudio aims to help managers reduce high turnover rates among nurses and other frontline health care workers — a longstanding problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Helping Californians Maintain Coverage After the Public Health Emergency

California’s success in avoiding unnecessary Medi-Cal disenrollment and smoothing transitions to other coverage will be crucial.

Biden Lays Out His Health Policy Agenda

Alyssa Llamas, Dawn Joyce

Behavioral Health, Health Care Costs

Some of his key items are already underway via administrative actions, while others require legislative action in Congress.

‘You Want Your Immune System Protecting You and Your Baby’

Xenia Shih Bion

Ob/gyns, a nurse, and a midwife answer FAQs about the COVID-19 vaccine, pregnancy, and fertility.