Health Insurance Program

We examine…the state of health insurance in California.

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research’s Health Insurance Program examines key state and national trends in health insurance coverage, including employer and individual insurance, access to insurance, as well as the health and economic impact of lack of insurance.

UCLA CHPR regularly publishes policy briefs, fact sheets, and journal articles, as well as its signature biennial report The State of Health Insurance in California (SHIC), a comprehensive examination of health insurance coverage in the state, with particular attention to health and health care disparities resulting from lack of insurance.

In addition, the Health Insurance Program provides:

• Statistical analyses of health insurance topics
• Expertise and evaluation services of state and national health programs and initiatives
• Rapid response to data requests from legislators and their staff, as well as partners and advocates, the research community, and the media.

Our Impact

Publications, presentations, and invited testimony from UCLA CHPR faculty and staff have also supported a wide range of health insurance initiatives, from the county-based Healthy Kids programs to statewide legislative efforts to expand Medi-Cal to low-income, single adults and those who lacked citizenship.

Our experts, with extensive understanding of public and private insurance models, have tracked the extent to which the expansion of health care under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has — or has not — benefited marginalized communities. Finally, our research on insurance has been included in Supreme Court amicus briefs in support of health care reform.