We can minimize the harmful effects of health disparities by designing programs that offer accessible, evidence-based interventions that empower people. A new approach to medicine—that takes into account a person’s way of life, culture and neighborhood—is helping.
San Francisco’s street medicine team brings doctors and other health professionals directly to people living on the streets to hear their stories and earn their trust. They provide as many services as the person will accept, from housing and food to medication and medical treatment, including addiction treatment.
Advocates for young children are applauding the state’s budget plans for next fiscal year, which include millions of dollars for programs that help low-income parents and kids.
The $200-billion spending plan, which Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign into law, increases funding for cash assistance to poor families, launches a statewide home visiting program for new parents on welfare, and makes available more than 13,000 new vouchers to help low-income families pay for child care.
More Californians are participating in palliative care programs, but the need still outpaces the supply, according to a new report.
A mapping project just released by the California Healthcare Foundation found significant progress in the number of programs and participants participating in palliative care services compared to four years ago.
Lawmakers are considering several bills this month aimed at stabilizing California’s health insurance marketplace, despite a state budget deal that effectively killed other, more expensive proposals. Several bills take aim at efforts by the Trump administration to weaken provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
Health advocates are decrying the budget deal reached between Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders last week, calling it a missed opportunity to improve health care access for struggling Californians.
The legislature is expected to vote this month on three bills that seek to safeguard and improve the health of Californian residents. The bills take aim at health disparities among people covered by the state’s low-income health program known as Medi-Cal and the improper discharge of homeless patients from the hospital.
As California struggles to meet children’s mental health needs, lawmakers are pressing for two bills that would take steps to address the problem.
The bills seek to strengthen mental health services for children and youth, either through targeted funding or by instituting new training requirements for people who regularly work with young people.
New data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show’s children’s oral health has improved across the nation, but race-based gaps in the prevalence of dental cavities and their treatment persist.
The expansion of the federal low-income health program to cover more people hasn’t benefited Latinos as much as other racial and ethnic groups, according to a recent report by UCLA researchers.