Center in the News

Mental illness is sorely underfunded. California is actually one of the leaders because we have what's known as the millionaire's tax, which is the mental health services act, which gives us more resources than the typical state to deal with mental health problems, and you see, we're not getting it right. The first thing we need to do is look at how we finance mental health, some people think that if people get all of the treatment that they want, that we will break the bank. And that's not a good way to think about it. Instead what we need to do is when people go to their primary care setting

In a four-year California Health Interview Survey from 2017 to 2020, 45% of undocumented immigrants said they were affected by food insecurity, and the figure for those age 17 or younger was 64%

One-third of California’s middle and high school students experienced serious psychological distress between 2019 and 2021, according to the California Health Interview Survey, an annual statewide survey led by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. According to experts, those stakes are higher for LGBTQ+ students, many of whom relied on spaces like school-based gay-straight alliance clubs, or sessions led by LGBTQ+ focused nonprofit organizations, to support their mental health.

The grant supports the Health Equity Challenge (HEC), a program developed by MolinaCares in partnership with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research as a part of the MolinaCares California Equity and Accessibility Initiative. The initiative launched in 2021 to advance health equity across the state of California. The HEC gave UCLA students an opportunity to partner with local community-based organizations to create innovative solutions to local issues. Two finalists were selected, including Alma Lopez, a UCLA graduate student.

Daniel Eisenberg, a health policy and management professor, said the pandemic contributed to a significant, but not massive, increase in mental illness diagnoses. "We see about twice as many students that are reporting symptoms of depression or anxiety, but there's also a positive trend to that," Eisenberg said. "Students are reporting that they're using mental health services, which typically includes therapy or medication, so that there is an expansion of access to health care.

"More than three-quarters of patients in MLK's emergency department rely on Medi-Cal -- The California Medicaid program -- and roughly 10% are uninsured, according to hospital figures. Medicaid programs reimburse doctors at lower rates than private insurers, which can "reduce the number of providers that are willing to participate," said Nadereh Pourat, associate director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research."

Two separate studies by UCLA CHPR researchers have been recognized among the top 10 articles in 2021 by the scientific journal Health Affairs:

The Effect Of The Affordable Care Act On Cancer Detection Among The Near-Elderly by Fabian Duarte, Srikanth Kadiyala, Gerald F. Kominski, and Antonia Riveros

Fabian Duarte and coauthors use an interesting “difference in discontinuities” approach to show that the increase in insurance coverage among adults ages 60–64 due to the Affordable Care Act greatly increased rates of cancer detection for this population. Fifty-nine additional incidents of cancer

Estimates from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the UC Berkeley Labor Center show that 391,000 Californians previously excluded from subsidies in Covered California would be eligible for them under the new rule. Of those, an estimated 149,000 would likely enroll in a Covered California plan.

Researchers assessed data from 84,419 respondents in the 2015-18 California Health Interview Survey. They found that the rate of telehealth use among patients with LEP was 4.8 percent versus 12.3 percent among proficient English speakers.

In a California Health Interview Survey prepared by the county, 41.8 percent of San Diego residents age 65 and older had an income of 50k or less in 2021.