Managed Care Research and Reports
The Patient Advocate funds and develops Health Policy Research Reports, which are published by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA.). These reports are designed to increase awareness of the current and most important issues in relation to HMOs. The role these issues play in managed health care is a factor in determining how effectively the HMOs are able to adapt to meet the changing needs of their diverse members.
These documents are available in Portable Document Format (PDF.)
Enrollees
Profile of California's HMO Enrollees(PDF, 1.51 MB)
This report, produced by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research under contract to the California Office of the Patient Advocate, provides a detailed demographic profile of California's HMO enrollee population using data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001). CHIS 2001, a new source of health information for California, is the largest state health survey ever conducted in the United States. Read More... (PDF, 1.51 MB)
2006 Survey: What Consumers Want to Know About Their HMOs
(PDF, 308 KB)
OPA recently commissioned a random sample survey of 1,224 adult Californians enrolled in HMOs. Goals of the survey were to:
- Determine the kinds of information HMO enrollees would like to know about their health plan and how it works.
- Identify the sources of information that consumers trust and the sources of information they find most useful. Specifically, the survey sought to understand how consumer information needs vary by source of coverage (employer, Medicare, or Medi-Cal), demographics, and geography.
- Document the changes in consumer experiences since 1997, when a similar survey was conducted.
Language
Policy Brief - Language Barriers Pose a Risk for California HMO Enrollees
(PDF, 101 KB)
Among California’s adult HMO enrollees ages 18 to 64, 3.4 million speak a language other than English at home and of those, almost 30% report not being able to speak English well or not at all. Over one million of these HMO members with limited English proficiency (LEP) are at risk of facing problems accessing health care services and receiving quality treatment. Read More...(PDF, 101 KB)
HMO Services in Other Languages
(PDF, 173 KB)
California is a very diverse state, and the population enrolled in its health maintenance organizations (HMOs) reflects this diversity. HMOs are faced not only with the challenge of providing appropriate health care services to members, but also providing services to enable access to carefor limited English proficient (LEP) members. This report presents findings from the Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA) Cultural and Linguistic Services Information for Health Plans Survey. Read More... (PDF, 173 KB)
Policy Brief - Diversity in Language and Education Poses Challenges for Health Plans
(PDF, 2.61 MB)
California’s health maintenance organizations (HMOs) face serious challenges in meeting the needs of their members who have diverse language proficiency and educational attainment. This policy brief summarizes findings from a report that is the most comprehensive profile of the state’s entire HMO membership available to date, including commercial, Medicare, Medi-Cal, and Healthy Families members. Read More... (PDF, 2.61 MB)
Obesity
Policy Brief - More Than Half of Californians in HMOs Are Overweight or Obese
(PDF, 184KB)
More than five million Californians enrolled in HMOs-over half of all HMO enrollees ages 12 to 64-are overweight or obese, based on the most recent data from the California Health Interview Survey. Read More... (PDF, 184KB)
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