blog post County Jails House Fewer Inmates, but Over Half Face Mental Health Issues By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin Oct 25, 2023 While the number of people in California's county jails has declined markedly over the last decade, the share of inmates with mental health needs has grown to more than half of the total jail population.
blog post Will Uninsured Californians Get Health Care? Most Say Yes By Sonja Petek Feb 7, 2014 California’s health insurance exchange, Covered California, has enrolled more than 625,000 people under the Affordable Care Act. However, many eligible enrollees have yet to sign up, including a disproportionate share of Latinos.
blog post Immigrants and Health Insurance By Shannon McConville Nov 18, 2015 California has seen large declines in the uninsured rate among noncitizens—a group that includes an estimated 2.6 million people who legally reside in the state, as well as 2.7 million undocumented immigrants.
interactive California Critical Care during COVID-19 Mar 23, 2020 As the number of Californians testing positive for the coronavirus rises, there is growing concern about available critical care resources and how they are distributed across the state.
blog post Low-income and Undocumented Californians Struggle with Mental Health By Patricia Malagon, Paulette Cha, Shalini Mustala Oct 2, 2023 Nearly one in five low-income adults in California report having serious psychological distress, and those who are undocumented can face barriers to care. California has taken steps to improve access to mental health care, such as expanding Medi-Cal to all low-income residents regardless of age or immigration status, effective January 2024.
press release Picture Of Health? Californians Prefer To Make Health Policy At The Ballot Box Feb 23, 2005
Report Expanding Health Coverage in California: County Jails as Enrollment Sites By Shannon McConville, Mia Bird May 10, 2016 In 2014, the first year of Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation, the number of Californians with health insurance increased substantially. However, millions of state residents continue to lack comprehensive health coverage, and those who remain uninsured are likely more difficult to enroll through traditional strategies. In this report, we find that uninsured rates are highest for young men and for those with low levels of education, income, and employment. The prevalence of these same characteristics among correctional populations suggests that the justice system—and, in particular, county jails—may offer points of contact for many uninsured individuals who would otherwise be hard to reach. Outreach and enrollment efforts aimed at local jail populations are set within the policy context of California’s 2011 Public Safety Realignment, which created incentives and resources for local corrections agencies to improve reentry outcomes. With expansions in access to health insurance coverage under the ACA, nearly all counties are establishing programs to provide enrollment assistance to jail inmates as part of a more comprehensive reentry strategy. But resources and capacity are limited, so it is important to identify effective models to maximize the potential of county correctional systems as sites of insurance enrollment.
