In Brief: California Gets Relatively Low Health System Scores; Covered California Focuses On Enrollment In Los Angeles

California’s Health System Gets Relatively Low Scores

California received high marks from the Commonwealth Fund regarding the relative health of its residents, but received lower scores in the area of prevention and treatment and access to healthcare services.

According to the study, California ranked seventh out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of mortality rates, deaths from various forms of cancer, suicide and infant mortality, among other indicators. It ranked sixth nationwide regarding children receiving recommended vaccination doses.

However, the Golden State ranked only 37th for preventative care and treatment. It had the lowest score in the nation for adults over the age of 50 who receive recommended screenings and preventative care. It had the second-lowest score for the percentage of children who have access to a permanent medical home.

Among all the states, Minnesota, Vermont, Hawaii, and Massachusetts had the highest scores. The four lowest-ranking states were Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.

“While there are still wide differences among states, and performance has worsened in some instances, policy changes like those in the Affordable Care Act, incentives to improve health care quality and safety, and provider-led efforts are beginning to bear fruit,” said Commonwealth Fund President David Blumenthal, M.D.

Covered California Puts Focus On Uninsured In Los Angeles

The Covered California health insurance exchange has focused enrollment efforts on portions of Los Angeles that have significant numbers of residents who are eligible for coverage subsidies but have not yet enrolled.

The so-called “hot spots” are in South Los Angeles, East Hollywood/MacArthur Park and East Los Angeles, according to exchange data.

“Covered California works across all of Los Angeles, but the map helps us focus our efforts on areas where we know many who are still uninsured live,” said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee.

The exchange has opened up additional storefront enrollment centers in those neighborhoods, and is working with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti on public service announcements and other outreach.

Open enrollment ends Dec. 15. As of last month, 34,000 Californians had obtained new insurance coverage, officials said.

CDC Says Percentage Of Americans With Medical Bill Woes Drops

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that the number of Americans who had trouble paying medical bills dropped from 56.5 million to 47.4 million.

The percentage of the U.S. population that had trouble paying medical bills dropped from 21.3% in 2011 to 16.5% during the first half of 2015.