Primary Care

Primary Care’s Essential Role in Advancing Health Equity for California

This report surveys the research linking primary care to improved health equity. It includes 14 example recommendations to strengthen primary care and to advance equity in California across five key areas.

CIN Partner Meeting — Strengthening Foundations

March 2, 2023 - March 2, 2023

This CIN partner meeting aimed to establish network connections and build relationships among partners to support CIN goals for the 2023-24 cycle.

CIN Webinar — Cultural Competency and Indigenous Communities

This discussion will provide historic and contemporary information about issues that impact the health of indigenous people in California with a focus on how federal and state policies continue to shape health outcomes.

Investing in Behavioral Health

Behavioral Health

In this paper, Freedman HealthCare looks across states to identify national best practices in the collection and reporting of behavioral health investment data.

A Game Changer for Street Medicine: Key Takeaways from New Medi-Cal Guidelines

In November 2022, California’s Department of Health Care Services shared an "All Plan Letter" that could make it easier for communities to establish, maintain, and fully leverage street medicine programs.This issue brief lays out the major implications of this new guidance, along with key issues that remain.

November 16, 2022

Webinar — Why Primary Care Matters to California

Workforce, Medi-Cal, Health Equity

November 16, 2022 - November 16, 2022

Join CHCF for a webinar on why improving primary care is key to California reaching its goals around health care access, quality, and equity.

Advancing Behavioral Health Outcomes in Primary Care

Behavioral Health

The Advancing Behavioral Health Outcomes in Primary Care project is a learning collaborative of 14 CHCs with the goal of improving behavioral health outcomes, especially among Black, Latino/x, Indigenous, Asian Pacific Islander, LGBTQA, and non-English-speaking patients.

California’s Health Care Future Depends on Nurse Practitioners

August 15, 2022

A conversation with Payam Parvinchiha, an internal medicine physician who provides care to seniors with chronic conditions.

The Big Health Care Wins in California’s State Budget

Medi-Cal, Expanding Health Coverage, Workforce, Health Care Costs, Data Exchange

California’s 2022–23 state budget represents one of the most significant investments in health care in a generation.

Investing in Primary Care: Why it Matters for Californians with Medi-Cal Coverage

Edrington Health Consulting

This first-of-its-kind study examines primary care spending by 13 Medi-Cal managed care plans and finds that greater investment in primary care is associated with better quality of care and a higher plan rating.

Medi-Cal Study

On the Wellness Curve, Focus on Primary Health Care Will Put California Ahead

Alice Hm Chen, Julia Logan

Health Care Costs

A first-of-its-kind study of primary care spending in California’s commercial health insurance market finds organizations that invest a higher proportion of spending in primary care deliver better care.

Investing in Primary Care: Why It Matters for Californians with Commercial Coverage

Dolores Yanagihara, Ann Hwang

This study measures primary care spending, as a proportion of overall spending, among commercial health plans and provider organizations (POs) in California. Among POs, more investment in primary care was associated with better quality, fewer ED visits, and lower total cost of care.

Access, Affordability, and Respect: California Poll Shows Benefits Associated with Having a Primary Care Provider

Rebecca Catterson, Lucy Rabinowitz Bailey

An analysis of poll findings reveals significant differences between insured Californians who have a primary care provider and those who do not across topics related to health care utilization, experience, affordability, and health behaviors.

Explainers

More than 90% of Californians have health insurance, and yet millions still lack access to affordable, high-quality care. Strengthening primary care will help bridge this gap. Without a stronger and more robust primary care infrastructure, priorities related to California’s health care workforce, coverage expansion, and the California Department of Health Care Services’s ambitious transformation of the Medi-Cal program through CalAIM will fall short.