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The Los Angeles Times — I’ve written about L.A.’s mental illness crisis for almost 20 years. We have to do better — March 10, 2023

I’ve written about L.A.’s mental illness crisis for almost 20 years. We have to do better — I’ve written about L.A.’s mental illness crisis for almost 20 years. We have to do better — March 10, 2023

If we can identify all the impediments to good care, can’t we find the will to remove them and build a better system?

“I think we can,” said UCLA health policy research scientist Imelda Padilla-Frausto, a member of the L.A. County Mental Health Commission, who is big on homelessness prevention and early mental health intervention.
The county is housing thousands of people each year but the lifeboat is still taking on water. Padilla-Frausto calls for a greater “upstream approach” that targets social and economic needs early on, so that “we are not left bailing out a sinking boat.” She said

Features: D. Imelda Padilla-Frausto

CalMatters — California eyes end to Medi-Cal premiums for children, vulnerable adults — March 10, 2023

California eyes end to Medi-Cal premiums for children, vulnerable adults — California eyes end to Medi-Cal premiums for children, vulnerable adults — March 10, 2023

Eliminating the premiums is likely to create more stable coverage for families over time, regardless of whether their income inches up or down, said Nadereh Pourat, associate director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

“It’s a good idea for those children not to cycle in and out, and the parents don’t have to worry about losing coverage if they can’t afford it in a given month,” she said.

Features: Nadereh Pourat

ABC 10 San Diego — Sandy Hook families reach historic $73 million settlement with gun maker — March 10, 2023

Sandy Hook families reach historic $73 million settlement with gun maker — Sandy Hook families reach historic $73 million settlement with gun maker — March 10, 2023

Twenty children were killed and six adults and a subset of families have been working over 10 years to get some accountability by the manufacturer,” said Michael Rodriguez, professor at UCLA School of Public Health. “Guns, even though they're a consumer product, are not monitored or regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In fact, in 2005 Congress provided them immunity from being liable from any civil suits.

Features: Gun Violence and Gun Safety

CALmatters — California launches ambitious effort to transform Medi-Cal to ‘whole person care’ — March 29, 2023

California launches ambitious effort to transform Medi-Cal to ‘whole person care’ — California launches ambitious effort to transform Medi-Cal to ‘whole person care’ — March 29, 2023

Roughly 108,000 Medi-Cal patients were enrolled in county pilots and 15,000 in managed care pilots during a two-year period, according to an early analysis by UCLA researchers. As a result of the success, federal officials granted a waiver allowing CalAIM to move forward for the next five years. 

Features: Nadereh Pourat

Healio — Older Asian American adults report lower life satisfaction — March 10, 2023

Older Asian American adults report lower life satisfaction — Older Asian American adults report lower life satisfaction — March 10, 2023

Clinical and public health professionals have been gearing up to take care of the growing aging population, yet not much is known on how best to support the needs of older adults,” Riti Shimkhada, PhD, a senior research scientist at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, told Healio.

Features: Riti Shimkhada, Gun Violence and Gun Safety

Health Affairs — Addressing The Interlocking Impact Of Colonialism And Racism On Filipinx/a/o American Health Inequities — March 10, 2023

Addressing The Interlocking Impact Of Colonialism And Racism On Filipinx/a/o American Health Inequities — Addressing The Interlocking Impact Of Colonialism And Racism On Filipinx/a/o American Health Inequities — March 10, 2023

Because data on Asian Americans remain aggregated, knowledge about FilAm issues goes widely unnoticed. At a surface level, Asian Americans appear healthier than Whites, lending credence that Asian Americans can be deemphasized in research, funding, and medical attention or interventions.

Features: Ninez A. Ponce

Yahoo Finance — The MolinaCares Accord and UCLA Launch Health Equity Challenge — March 10, 2023

The MolinaCares Accord and UCLA Launch Health Equity Challenge — The MolinaCares Accord and UCLA Launch Health Equity Challenge — March 10, 2023

The MolinaCares Accord ("MolinaCares"), in collaboration with Molina Healthcare of California ("Molina"), today announced a $125,000 grant to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) to engage a diverse group of UCLA graduate students in developing solutions to California’s most pressing health equity concerns through the Health Equity Challenge. This grant is the latest partnership in the $1.6 million MolinaCares California Equity and Accessibility Initiative, launched in 2021 to advance health equity throughout the state.

Features: Health Equity Challenge

The Sacramento Bee — What does ‘Medicare for all’ mean for California health care workers? What experts say — March 10, 2023

What does ‘Medicare for all’ mean for California health care workers? What experts say — What does ‘Medicare for all’ mean for California health care workers? What experts say — March 10, 2023

If the California Assembly bill promising government-run health insurance coverage for all becomes law, it would radically change the pecking order for health care workers, the companies that employ them and the patients they serve, according to health policy expert Jack Needleman. Primary care physicians would command better pay, for instance, while specialists would likely see the so-called single-payer system created by the proposed law push back on their rates, said Needleman, chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at University of California, Los Angeles.

Features: Jack Needleman

Bloomberg News — When Asian-American Seniors Are Too Scared to Leave Home, Getting Food on the Table Is a Struggle — March 10, 2023

When Asian-American Seniors Are Too Scared to Leave Home, Getting Food on the Table Is a Struggle — When Asian-American Seniors Are Too Scared to Leave Home, Getting Food on the Table Is a Struggle — March 10, 2023

Findings from the 2020 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) suggest that among Asian adults, unfair treatment due to race or ethnicity played a bigger role in food insecurity than for the overall California population.

Among Asians, those reporting unfair treatment because of race or ethnicity experienced food insecurity at 1.5 times the rate than those not treated unfairly, according to CHIS, which is conducted by UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research and is the country’s largest statewide health survey. The CHIS is done online or by phone in several Asian languages: Chinese

Features: California Health Interview Survey (CHIS)