California’s top health priority should be making sure that people who need mental health treatment can get it, over 90 percent of respondents said in a recent poll.
People of color often feel the lack of access more acutely, researchers found, with 75 percent of black and 57 percent of Latino respondents noting that their communities don’t have enough mental health providers, compared to 49 percent of white participants.
The California State Auditor condemned three government agencies in a recent report for failing to fix problems with health care programs that serve some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.
The Department of Health Care Services has been slow to improve oversight of how counties manage and spend money for mental health care, the auditor said.
A state auditor’s report released this week found that California is unprepared to protect its most vulnerable residents during natural disasters, including those who have disabilities or are medically fragile. That’s despite the fact that a quarter of the state’s population lives in an area at risk of wildfire, and 20 percent of Californians are either over the age of 65 or have a disability.
In 2009, as the Great Recession bore down on California, lawmakers cut coverage of eyeglasses, podiatry, speech therapy and other benefits from the state’s low-income health program. A decade later, California will restore many of the cuts.
Despite health coverage gains under the Affordable Care Act, many low-income Californians are still struggling to afford medical care, with more than half reportedly delaying treatment because of cost, a recent survey found.
State lawmakers have approved a new budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year that seeks to make health care accessible and affordable to more people, including undocumented young adults.
Supporters of California’s 60,000 foster youth want the legislature and governor to create a statewide hotline that foster parents and children can call to receive immediate help. The hotline would operate 24 hours a day and be staffed by professionals trained in resolving and de-escalating conflicts.
More than 85,000 of California’s most vulnerable low-income residents, including those who are homeless and have been recently incarcerated, are now enrolled in a pilot project designed to link health care to social services.
Noting rising suicide rates and mental health problems among the state’s youth, a bill in the California Senate would require all new teachers to have mental health first-aid training.
In this country, we believe that our value and ability to contribute to society should not be based on how we look or how much money in our wallets. The Trump administration’s proposed public charge rule flouts these core values.