Millions of Californians feel they can’t afford to address their health needs, whether through medication, doctor’s visits or insurance coverage.
California’s new Office of Health Care Affordability recently proposed capping medical spending growth at 3 percent. This would limit how much things like insurance premiums or the cost of medical services could rise every year.
High costs, lack of clarity over which benefits are covered and limited providers, especially ones that reflect the diversity of the communities they serve, have forced historically excluded communities to delay or completely forgo oral health care.
Delayed care often leads to excruciating pain only a costly emergency room visit can fix, leaving people with thousands of dollars of medical debt.
The rise in telehealth has tremendous potential to improve the health of those who have historically lacked access to medical care. Those living medically underserved areas can use telehealth to more easily connect to specialists and manage conditions from home.
But this rapid deployment of technology has not fully accounted for the needs of Black and indigenous Californians, or other people of color, including those with limited English proficiency or disabilities.
Now is the time for California to finish the job of improving our health care system by ensuring communities have the opportunity to be healthy.