Health Data

New Study Shows Lagging Quality Improvement in Medi-Cal Managed Care

September 25, 2019

Christopher Perrone

Over the last decade, California hasn't seen the level of quality improvement expected from Medi-Cal, one of the state's most important programs.

The Sky’s the Limit

Richard M. Scheffler, Daniel R. Arnold, Brent D. Fulton

Health Care Costs

California pays significantly more for common health care services than the rest of the country, and the gap has been widening. A critical factor in the fast growth of prices is market concentration — including hospital consolidation and physician integration — which has been proliferating in the state. The Sky’s the Limit: Health Care Prices and Market Consolidation in California looks at the data and the policies that can be considered to address this serious concern.

2019 Edition — California’s County-Based Health Plans

Katherine Wilson

Coverage Trends

The state's county-based health plans are public entities organized through one or more counties to ensure that Medi-Cal enrollees, and in some cases county employees and Covered California enrollees, receive comprehensive care. Where are these plans and who do they cover? How have they changed between 2012 and 2018?

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.

Health Information Exchange Metrics and Evaluation Strategy for California

This report outlines a proposed strategy for measuring and evaluating the activity of California's regional health information organizations, which are poised for growth under the new California Health Information Exchange Onboarding Program.

2010 Edition — Chronic Conditions of Californians

Camillia Lui, Steven Wallace

Chronic conditions are the leading cause of death and disability in the US, and the largest component of health care costs. This report examines the impact of chronic conditions on the state using 2007 data from the California Health Interview Survey.

Beds for Boomers — Almanac Collection

Unprecedented growth in California’s senior population, is expected to have a significant impact on the state's health care system. The Almanac reports in this collection examines the growth in the state's senior population and potential impacts on acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health providers, and residential care facilities.

Maternity Care in California — Almanac Collection

Maternal Health

The Almanacs in this collection provide an overview of the delivery of maternity care in California using available metrics, and compare the state’s performance on these metrics by demographic groups, over time, and against national numbers.

2015 Edition — Health Care Costs 101

Katherine Wilson

Health Care Costs, Payment & Financing

With an increase of just 3.6% in 2013, the lowest growth rate in half a century, US spending on health care continued its slow growth, a trend that began in 2009. Health Care Costs 101: Reaching a Spending Plateau? details how much is spent on health care in the US, which services are purchased, and who pays.

Health Care Costs and Spending — Almanac Collection

Health Care Costs

This series of reports details how much is spent on health care in the US and California, which services are purchased, and who pays. This collection includes current and past editions of Health Care Costs 101 and Health Care Spending Almanac materials.

To Switch or Not to Switch: A Guide for Community Clinics Considering Changing EHRs

Walter Sujansky

This guide will help community health center (CHC) leaders weigh the costs and benefits of remaining with their current electronic health record system (EHR) or switching to a different one. Many CHCs are considering this decision, as a shifting health care landscape requires EHRs, and the organizations that manage them, to meet increasingly robust requirements.

2016 Edition — Health Care Costs 101

Katherine Wilson

Health Care Costs, Payment & Financing

After five years of slow growth, national health spending grew by 5.3% in 2014, up from 2.9% in 2013. The faster growth was due in part to coverage expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Health Care Costs 101: ACA Spurs Modest Growth, released in 2016, reports on data from 2014.

2019 Edition — California Health Insurers

Katherine Wilson

Coverage Trends, Medi-Cal

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.

2019 Edition — Quality of Care: Chronic Conditions

This set of quality measures highlights California’s performance across a range of chronic conditions, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease, and includes data by race/ethnicity, payer, and county.

Will the Data Walls Come Tumbling Down?

Xenia Shih Bion

Stories That Caught Our Attention This Week: Electronic health records are supposed to take the US health care system into the 21st century while improving quality of care. Is that dream within reach?