Physicians

California COVID-19 Health Surveys: Data and Charts

CHCF has commissioned ongoing surveys of the general public and of health care providers in California to understand changing use of the health care system during the coronavirus pandemic. These weekly surveys began the third week in March 2020, shortly after the statewide shelter-in-place orders were instituted in California, and continued through early September. The data files and charts from the survey findings are available for you to download.

Veteran California Journalists Confront Challenges of Coronavirus Beat

The pandemic has upended reporting strategies just as it has disrupted standard practices in other fields.

California Mobilizes for a Health Care Surge

Xenia Shih Bion

Coverage Trends, Medi-Cal, Serious Illness & End-of-Life Care, Telehealth, Workforce

Stories That Caught Our Attention: California is adopting policies related to health care coverage, workforce, telehealth, and palliative care to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finding the Right Words About COVID-19

Serious Illness & End-of-Life Care

Health care professionals are facing conversations that they never expected — or wanted — to have.

Why Isn’t the Country Getting the Physicians We Need?

Steven Birenbaum

How federal funding formulas influence where new doctors choose to work.

The Role of Palliative Care in a COVID-19 Pandemic

Jennifer Moore Ballentine

Serious Illness & End-of-Life Care, Workforce

Applying the unique skills and strengths found in palliative care must be part of the response to the novel coronavirus.

Hmong Community Planted Spiritual Roots in Merced Hospital

February 27, 2020

Xenia Shih Bion

At Mercy Medical Center, the nation's only hospital-based Hmong shaman certification program bridges Eastern and Western medicine to meet immigrants’ health needs.

Governor Newsom Appoints Bradley Gilbert to Lead Medi-Cal

February 10, 2020

Xenia Shih Bion

Stories That Caught Our Attention: The former health plan CEO comes to Sacramento with deep experience in transforming large health care organizations.

Concert Health Aims to Scale Collaborative Mental Health Care

January 30, 2020

Behavioral Health, Investing in Innovation, Telehealth, Workforce

Patients served by small and rural primary care physicians may benefit from a remote version of this increasingly popular model for providing mental health care.

October 23, 2019

Expanding Graduate Medical Education in California: 2019 Summit

October 23, 2019

To address a looming physician shortage, one of the top 10 recommendations made by the California Future Health Workforce Commission is to expand primary care and psychiatry residency programs to train sufficient numbers of physicians to meet the needs of Californians. CHCF convened a Graduate Medical Education (GME) Summit on October 23, 2019 in Oakland, California to catalyze collective action on residency expansion in California.

Inland Empire’s McNaughton Feels a ‘Sacred Calling’ to Connect People with Care

January 10, 2020

Behavioral Health, Medi-Cal, Workforce, Payment & Financing, Health Care Costs

The Inland Empire Health Plan's new CEO is continuing the trailblazing path that Californians have come to expect from the large and influential managed care plan.

California’s Surprise-Billing Law Influences Federal Approach

December 16, 2019

Xenia Shih Bion

Coverage Trends, Health Care Costs

Stories That Caught Our Attention: Recent developments in Washington suggest that a bipartisan solution for surprise medical bills is within reach — a development that may have been influenced by reforms passed in Sacramento.

Surprise Medical Billing Might Get a Hybrid Solution

December 12, 2019

Billy Wynne, Dawn Joyce

Health Care Costs, Coverage Trends

A federal policy to protect patients from surprise medical bills eluded Congress in 2019, but a new compromise may lead to a solution.

Health Affairs’ Rural Health Issue Has Special Relevance to California

December 9, 2019

Xenia Shih Bion

Behavioral Health, Maternal Health, Workforce

Stories That Caught Our Attention: Millions of Americans in rural areas face significant barriers to care and in almost every state are burdened with higher mortality rates than people in urban areas.

Putting Care in Context

December 4, 2019

Behavioral Health, Medi-Cal

Michelle Schneidermann, MD, the new CHCF director of High-Value Care, shares her goals for the program.