Programs & Resources / Health Equity

Health Equity

It is vital that California – at all levels and across all systems – work to break down entrenched barriers to quality health care for Black and Latino/x Californians.

All Californians should have the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential for health. CHCF is working with a wide range of partners to remove structural barriers to care and build a just and equitable health care system that is designed to redress, not perpetuate, the inequities that too many of our fellow Californians face.

New & Noteworthy

October 5, 2023

Briefing — Black Health Equity

Health Equity
October 5, 2023
On October 5, 2023, CHCF held a briefing in Sacramento focused on the health care challenges so many Black Californians face despite their pursuit of good health, as well as strategies for advancing Black health equity.
CHCF Blog

Sowing the Seeds of a Diverse Health Care Workforce

September 20, 2023
Sequoia Hall
Health Equity, Workforce
A CHCF Health Equity Fellow traces her path from a community of farmworkers in East Salinas.
CHCF Blog

Doctors From Mexico Treat Farmworkers in Rural California

June 27, 2023
Claudia Boyd-Barrett
Health Equity, Workforce
A pilot program that took two decades to launch now has 24 Mexican doctors providing care to Latino/x populations at clinics in Monterey, San Benito, Tulare, and Los Angeles Counties. The state has issued the visiting doctors three-year medical licenses to improve care for patients who speak only Spanish.
CHCF Blog

Latino/x, Black Entrepreneurs Needed for Health Care Challenges

September 8, 2023
Hilda Martinez
Investing in Innovation, Health Equity
A conversation with CHCF Senior Program Investment Officer Vanessa Villaverde about opening closed doors in investment networks.
CHCF Blog

Why Increasing the Number of Latino Physicians Is So Important for California

October 24, 2023
Veronica Contreras
Workforce, Health Equity
California has a lot of work to do to build a representative physician workforce. Latinos account for just 6% of physicians, despite making up 39% of the state’s population.
Publication

Listening to Black Californians Who Identify as LGBTQ+

September 2023
Amber Bolden
Health Equity
This publication offers key findings from the Listening to Black Californians study on the experiences of Black Californians who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and more. Black LGBTQ+ Californians often experience mistreatment in the health care system due to their layered identities.
CHCF Blog

California Med School Makes History Again

September 7, 2023
Sarah Jimenez
Health Equity, Workforce
With the new class at Charles R. Drew University in South Los Angeles, educators aim to build a workforce that looks like California.
CHCF Blog

Alliance with Black Churches Closes Care Gaps for Aging People

August 25, 2023
Heather Stringer
Older Adults with Complex Needs, Serious Illness & End-of-Life Care, Health Equity
Trusted navigators help caregivers obtain holistic care and support for seniors with serious illnesses.
Publication

Listening to Black Californians with Mental Health Conditions

August 2023
Linda Cummings, PhD
Behavioral Health, Health Equity
This publication offers key findings from the Listening to Black Californians study on the experiences of Black Californians with mental health conditions, who are one of the groups most likely to report being treated poorly by a health care provider because of their race or ethnicity.
Publication

Listening to Black Women with Medi-Cal

May 2023
Linda Cummings, PhD
Health Equity, Medi-Cal
This publication offers key findings from the Listening to Black Californians study on the experiences of Black women with Medi-Cal coverage, who are more likely to report negative experiences and discrimination in the health care system than Black Californians overall.
External Resource

Foundations Respond to Supreme Court Affirmative Action Decision

June 2023
"We will remain steadfast in our collective mission to create a more equitable nation within the bounds of the law."
Program

Listening to Black Californians

As part of its commitment to ending health inequities, CHCF partnered with EVITARUS, a Black-owned public opinion research firm in Los Angeles, to conduct a qualitative and quantitative study that listens to Black Californians via in-depth interviews, focus groups, and a statewide survey.
Publication

Perspective: Racism in Academic Medicine Is Hindering Progress Toward Health Equity

February 2023
Vanessa Grubbs
Health Equity, Workforce
We cannot achieve health equity for Black patients without expanding the Black physician workforce, and the nation’s medical institutions are not achieving that goal.
Publication

2021 Edition — Health Disparities by Race and Ethnicity in California

October 2021
Aurrera Health Group
Health Equity
Disparities among historically marginalized groups in California occur across many demographic categories. This Almanac provides data that show how people of color face barriers in accessing health care, often receive suboptimal treatment, and are most likely to experience poor outcomes in the health care system.
Program

Advancing Black Health Equity

Health Equity, Workforce
It is incumbent on California, working at all levels and across systems, to break down entrenched barriers to quality health care for Black Californians. CHCF is working with partners to support crosscutting health systems work and to improve birth care, experiences, and outcomes for, by, and with Black mothers and birthing people in California.
Program

Advancing Latino/x Health Equity 

Health Equity
The California Health Care Foundation is focused on advancing policies and practices that will improve timely access to high-quality primary, specialty, and mental health care for Latino/x Californians and eliminate avoidable differences in health outcomes.
CHCF Blog

Advancing Midwifery and Birth Equity in California

January 31, 2023
Silvina Martinez
Maternal Health, Health Equity, Workforce
Midwives assist people with low- to moderate-risk pregnancies and are a growing component of the maternity workforce in California.
CHCF Blog

Navigators / Navegadores Connect a California Immigrant Community to Medi-Cal

November 8, 2022
Claudia Boyd-Barrett
Medi-Cal, Health Equity
Experts counsel community members, including those reluctant to provide their ID cards or personal information needed to apply for Medi-Cal coverage.
Publication

Equitable Co-design in Health Care: How to Incorporate Community Voices to Impact Systems

April 2023
California Improvement Network
Health Equity
Learn about three interventions to help health systems and community-based groups address the social drivers of health and bring about meaningful structural change in this CIN summary.
Publication

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

March 2023
Health Equity
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.
Publication

New Analysis Sums Up How to Measure Health Equity

March 2023
National Committee for Quality Assurance
Health Equity, Medi-Cal
This policy brief is part of the National Committee for Quality Assurance's larger work examining quality measurement for Medicaid programs.