Health Equity

Issues

About Health Equity

Disparate health outcomes for minorities, individuals experiencing homelessness, and other subsets of California’s population are the result of historic and systemic inequalities that persist today, and it has risen to the level of a public health crisis in California. Unequal access to health care and health resources, as well as unequal and damaging environmental conditions due to race, socioeconomic status, and other factors is untenable in a just and healthy society. Ensuring every Californian receives equitable, high-quality care requires long-term, systemic solutions. Some facts*:

  • Black Californians have the highest rates of new prostate, colorectal, and lung cancer cases, and the highest death rates for breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer.
  • About one in five Latinx Californians report not having a usual source of care and difficulty finding a specialist.
  • Californians who are Native American and Alaska Native, as well as Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, are less likely to report having a checkup within the past year than other racial/ethnic groups.

*Source: California Health Care Foundation

California’s hospitals are on the front lines of mitigating health inequities. Within their communities, hospitals examine and address the social determinants of health — things like housing instability, access to healthy foods, and community violence — that significantly affect health risks and outcomes. And they continually work to improve the experience and outcomes for everyone in their care through a variety of initiatives, including a statewide maternal health quality collaborative; data collection and analysis on race, ethnicity, language preference, and other sociodemographic data; cultural competency training; increasing diversity in leadership and governance; and improving and strengthening community partnerships. But hospitals alone cannot eliminate health disparities. It will take systemic reform, paired with broad partnerships across all segments of California’s communities, to break from the status quo.

Abundance of Revenue May Trigger State Spending Limits

Even though the state will bring in billions of dollars in surplus revenue this year, its ability to spend those additional dollars may be more limited than it has been for many years. This unique challenge facing the Legislature and administration as they craft the 2022-23 state budget is being driven by a voter-approved requirement […]

Care for All Means Care for ALL

Our state is home to nearly 11 million immigrants, more than any other in the nation, and immigrants account for 28% of California’s population. Policies that sow fear or confusion among our immigrant communities are antithetical and detrimental to the mission of hospitals: Caring for the sick and healing the injured, regardless of a patient’s […]

Six more hospitals join Cherished Futures

Since 2019, Cherished Futures for Black Moms and Babies has focused on the audacious goal of eliminating maternal and infant health inequities in Los Angeles County. These bold plans continue to gain momentum.