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California Health Report
How to Get Medical and Education Services When You Don’t Speak English
Mary Rios quickly realized the mom speaking to her on the phone in Spanish had hit a familiar roadblock. Like many parents who have a child with disabilities, the mother couldn’t access care she needed for her 8-year-old son with developmental delays. Her son could not be left unsupervised, and she needed the state to help pay for home care for him when he was not in school. The state denied her request.
These Lessons Give Children with Chronic Illnesses a Chance to Be a Guitarist, Actor or Chef
Christal Castro was casually browsing her Facebook feed one day in 2018 when she came across a post from a friend that stopped her in mid-scroll. The post talked about a gala for an organization headquartered in Los Angeles called CoachArt that helps chronically ill kids. Children ages 5 to 18 could explore hobbies and skills through free classes, including painting, cooking, guitar lessons and martial arts.
Opinion: We Need to Balance Innovation with Equity in the Rush to Reimagine Primary Care
Improving access to high-quality primary care is one of the best things we can do to improve health in America. Primary care improves nearly every measure of health and is the only form of health care where greater supply results in better health for more people. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, access to primary care is so important it is classified as a social determinant of health, that is, a nonmedical factor that influences how healthy people are during their lifetime.
Opinion: California Is Moving Closer to Health Equity with Medi-Cal’s Expansion
As a practicing physician for more than 20 years and the son of two immigrant parents, patients often ask me whether applying for Medi-Cal health care coverage will affect their ability to stay in this country. In the immigrant community, many people believe they have one of two choices: sign...
Analysis: My Son’s Journey With Food, and How I Learned to Love Meal Supplements
For me, the most important thing about the holidays is food. I love cooking almost as much as I love eating. For Thanksgiving, I cook turkey. For Christmas, prime rib. And the stars of the show are the side dishes: green beans, mashed potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts and, of course, pie. As a mother, the food I serve my family isn’t just food, it represents love.
Opinion: Here’s How We Can Close Gaps to Make This Health Care Program Successful
California’s ambitious journey to reshape health care through the multiyear Medi-Cal reform effort known as California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) represents a profound leap forward. The effort will introduce a variety of new programs and benefits over five years, aimed at improving care for the millions of Californians enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state’s safety-net health insurance program.
Health Care for Young Adults with Disabilities Is Complicated, But Here Are Resources That Can Help
When Christopher McGeever was 22, he aged out of the educational services available to him and needed to enroll in another program for adults with disabilities. There are several daytime caregiving facilities in the San Jose community where he lives. But when his mother, Laura, called to enroll him, many said, “No.”
Opinion: For Communities to Thrive, We Need More Funding to Address Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a problem that exists in all communities irrespective of culture, religion, sexual orientation, income or immigration status. Yet, despite its prevalence, we are facing federal budget cuts for programs that help domestic violence survivors and try to prevent future abuse. Research shows nearly 20 people per minute...
A Model for Getting Domestic Violence Survivors Wraparound Support
Nina stared at the job listing. She felt as though it had been written just for her. A new, multidisciplinary center for survivors of domestic violence was opening in northern San Diego County. The center needed bilingual care coordinators to talk with survivors of domestic violence and connect them with dozens of resources available through the center that could help them find safety, healing and independence.
Analysis: California Is Rationing Care for People With Disabilities. It’s Indefensible, But Here’s a Solution
Medically fragile children belong at home with their families, not in institutions. To make that possible, these children need support, especially if they depend on life-sustaining medical equipment such as ventilators, IVs or feeding tubes. In the hospital, these children receive round-the-clock care from doctors and nurses. At home, they still need nursing care.
Opinion: How to Combat Racism and Bias in Dentistry
Nationwide, more than twice as many people in the United States don’t have dental insurance compared to those who don’t have medical insurance. A lack of dental coverage affects both children and adults. People of color are disproportionately left out of coverage. An estimated 50 percent of children...
Opinion: California Has a Chance to Lead the Nation in Ending Domestic Violence
California has a history of leading the way on big health and equity issues. The state has led the nation in providing universal access to health care, closing the wage gap between men and women and supporting reproductive freedom. The Golden State has a chance to lead again. Earlier this...
How One Bay Area Organization is Helping Asian American Families Find Support
When Anna Wang’s son, Lawrence, was diagnosed with autism almost 30 years ago, she and her husband felt lost. It was the early 1990s, and there were almost no support services in the Silicon Valley area geared toward Asian American families of children with special needs. The Wangs struggled to deal with their son’s behavior and communication challenges. They worried about his future and whether he’d ever reach his full potential. They felt stressed and alone.
How Families of Children With Disabilities Can Find Support
Susana Ruiz sat in the doctor’s exam room in San Jose, unable to smile, open her right eye, or even take a sip of water. “The only way this is going to remedy is if you take care of yourself,” the doctor told her sternly. “You can’t take care of anybody else right now.”
Analysis: Overwhelmed With Medical Bills? It Helps to Think Like a Detective
As a parent of a child with medically complex conditions, I’m good at handling health emergencies. My child is tracheostomy dependent, which means that several times a day, his breathing tube gets blocked and I have to act quickly to clear it. When my son’s ventilator alarm sounds, I know how to troubleshoot and figure out what went wrong so he can keep breathing. Handling medical emergencies isn’t hard for me anymore, it’s just a part of life.
For Children with Long-Term Health Conditions, This Program Could Be a Lifeline. Will It Deliver?
It was a typical week for Nancy Netherland of Berkeley. Her 15-year-old daughter, Amelia, who has a rare autoinflammatory disease that causes multiple chronic physical and developmental health problems, needed a new course of treatment involving genetic testing and immune-system medication. The recommendation came from Amelia’s immunology team at UCSF...
Many California Children Can’t Afford Hearing Aids, but a New Bill Could Change That
When Johanna Wonderly’s second daughter Cara was diagnosed with hearing loss at four weeks old, the mother from Sacramento assumed the $4,000 hearing aids her daughter needed would be covered by their family’s health insurance. Doctors told Wonderly the aids were needed for her daughter’s healthy development. So,...
Opinion: Achieving California’s Health Equity Goals Depends on Getting This Process Right
Imagine you receive a stack of papers in the mail, some 20 pages long. You need to read them, confirm and update your personal information, and then find and get copies of physical proof of your income and other household details. The clock is ticking: Your health insurance hinges on your ability or inability to take action in fewer than 60 days. Now imagine English isn’t your primary language, or you work full time, or you are the primary caretaker of your kids or other loved ones. Or imagine you, like thousands of people who are unhoused, do not have reliable access to mail.
I Was Criminalized as a Domestic Violence Survivor. Here’s How We Reform the System
Growing up in Ethiopia with a loving family, I never encountered abusive relationships. My father and mother devoted their lives to raising me and my four sisters. I never saw them fight, drunk or use drugs. If there was ever a conflict, my father would call a family meeting and resolve it in a calm and respectful manner. There was no favoritism or neglect.
Mental Health Care Is Critical for Survivors of Violence. Access Is Another Story
Lisbet wondered if the victim advocate had made a mistake. Lisbet was at the Family Justice Center in San Diego, a social services agency for domestic violence survivors, trying to get help with basic needs like shelter and food after leaving her abusive husband. And she was being offered counseling.
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