The Center's FREE health policy seminar series: 2015
From health care reform in the United States to health care costs around the world, the Center is pleased to host leading health policy experts at our lunchtime seminar series. Seminars take place once a month at the Center's offices for approximately one hour.
The Center's FREE Health Policy Seminar Series: 2015
November 19, 2105
"Why Don't More Community Clinics Provide On-Site Dental Care?"
James Crall, Professor and Chair of the Public Health and Community Dentistry Division, UCLA School of Dentistry
Nadereh Pourat, Director of HEER Program at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, and Adjunct Professor, UCLA School of Dentistry
Low-income adults and children who are able to see a dentist at the same location as their primary care doctor are more likely to get dental care, yet almost three out of five community health clinics in California either don’t offer oral health services or, if they do, the nearest facility is sometimes too far for many patients to reach, according to a recent Center study.
Crall and Pourat review the data on the number of California community health centers that provide on-site dental care versus those that do not and takes a specific look at the county that “co-locates” oral and primary care the least: Los Angeles. The presentation will also make the case that providing both dental and primary care in the same location is good not just for patients but for clinics’ bottom line.
October 28, 2015
"Narrow Networks: Do We Know When Networks Have Become Too Narrow?"
Gerald Kominski, Director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, and Professor, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has created a greater degree of standardization of health insurance plans than has ever existed in the individual (non-group) health insurance market. All policies are required to have Essential Health Benefits, as well as four metal tiers based on plan actuarial values and standard limits on maximum annual out-of-pocket spending.
As a result, one of the most significant remaining features of health plans that can vary considerably is the number of doctors and hospitals contracting with each health plan. The fact that many health insurers offered plans through ACA Exchanges in 2014 and 2015 with so-called “narrow networks” has led to some concern that those buying health insurance in the individual market, both inside and outside the Exchanges, now face more restricted access to doctors and hospitals in their immediate geographic area. Furthermore, this restricted access has raised concerns about possible adverse health consequences.
Kominski summarizes what is known about narrow networks from the research literature; discusses challenges in defining and measuring network adequacy; and proposes further research to determine whether narrow networks are necessarily associated with lower quality care.
September 22, 2015
"Promoting Preventive Health Care in the Community: The Healthy Aging Partnerships in Prevention Initiative"
Kathryn Kietzman, Research Scientist, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
O. Kenrik Duru, Faculty Associate, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, and Professor, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Kietzman and Duru present early findings from a new project to increase the use of clinical preventive services, such as flu shots and mammograms, among older residents of South Los Angeles.
August 18, 2015
"CHIS 2013 and 2014: What's New in the Nation's Largest State Health Survey"
Ninez Ponce, Principal Investigator, California Health Interview Survey (CHIS)
David Grant, Director, California Health Interview Survey
In conjunction with the launch of new 2013 and 2014 data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), Ponce and Grant describe new information and innovative features of the latest surveys.
July 15, 2015
"Environmental Factors Driving Rising Obesity in California"
Joelle Wolstein, Research Scientist, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
Susan H. Babey, Co-Director Chronic Disease Program and Senior Research Scientist, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
More than seven million Californians are obese, and obesity rates have risen over the past decade to encompass one-quarter of the adult population. The cost to Californians -- in terms of health and medical care -- is rising as well. What can the state do to stem the epidemic?
Wolstein and Babey discuss findings from their 10-year study, Obesity in California. In particular, the authors will describe the structural challenges to fighting obesity in California, including the built environment, neighborhood safety, as well as economic access issues that prevent Californians from practicing healthy behaviors.
June 17, 2015
"The Importance of CHIS in LGBT Research and Data Collection"
Gary Gates, Blachford-Cooper Distinguished Scholar and Research Director at the UCLA Williams Institute
The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) represents one of the largest ongoing population-based data collection efforts in the country that has included measurement of sexual orientation for more than a decade.
Gates demonstrates how CHIS has been used in research about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and (as of CHIS 2015) transgender community and the role it has played in helping to inform important policy debates about LGBT rights. He highlights new ways that CHIS is expanding its efforts to identity the LGBT population and provide leadership in advancing efforts to improve LGBT data collection.
