Summary
California has a large population of people who are considered to have “limited English proficiency” (LEP), or who report speaking English “not very well” or “not at all.” According to the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) there are approximately 2.7 million adults with LEP in California. This California Health Care Foundation brief uses pooled data from the 2021 and 2022 CHIS that looks at the adult LEP population in California, including their demographic characteristics, access to care, health outcomes, and challenges faced when communicating with providers.
Findings: Those with LEP are more likely to have lower incomes and more likely to identify as Latino/x — and they are more likely to report experiencing discrimination in the health care system — than those without LEP. People with LEP are more likely to report trouble understanding health care providers and are less likely to access telehealth services and have a usual place to go for care. They experience challenges in accessing language assistance from qualified interpreters and are less likely to access telehealth services or have a usual place to go for care. However, on some measures people with LEP fared the same or better than other Californians. For example, people with LEP are no more likely than people who are English proficient to have gone without a doctor visit in the past year or have trouble finding a doctor who will see them. And people with LEP are also less likely to report delaying or going without needed care.
Sixty percent of adult Californians with LEP are enrolled in public health insurance programs, so there is potential for the Medicaid unwinding to have a disproportionate impact on this population.