Despite overall gains in health coverage and access to care, disparities persist in California

As of 2020, more than 2.5 million Californians age 64 and under had no health insurance coverage, according to a study by theUCLA Center for Health Policy Research.The report is based on an analysis of the center ’s California Health Interview Survey from 2019 and 2020.The researchers analyzed insurance rates in California. They found that adults aged 19 to 25 had the lowest rates of employment-based insurance (51.7%, compared to 61% to 66% for other age groups), even though they can remain on their parents ’ health coverage.In addition, just 43.1% of Latino women and 55.6% of Black women aged 19 to 64 had employer-based coverage — significantly lower rates than white women (72.0%). The disparities by race and ethnicity among adult men were similar, although men had slightly higher rates of employer-based coverage across the board than women did.California has long been a bellwether in the national health-care-for-all debate. Without a national overhaul of health coverage on the horizon, the state has recently revived attempts to achieve universal health coverage, including through a bill currently under debate in the state legislature and an alternate proposal by Gov. Gavin Newsom to expand Medi-Cal eligibility.“Even incremental expansion to health insurance eligibility would help California meet our remaining challenges, although the proposed comprehensive overhaul of our insurance system could also improve access to care for everyone,” saidShana Charles, a facult...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news