This report provides a summary of the statewide findings from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), with highlights of changes from 2003 to 2005. In dozens of easy-to-read tables and graphs, the report features more than 80 health indicators on topics that include asthma, obesity, health insurance and health care access. It shows findings by age, gender, race and ethnicity, income level and health insurance status. The information was collected over two survey periods, allowing the report's authors to note significant changes between 2003 and 2005 in the health of Californians. Conducted every two years, CHIS is the nation's largest state health survey and CHIS data represents the most up-to-date and comprehensive information on the health of Californians. CHIS is conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health, the Department of Health Care Services and the Public Health Institute.

This report provides a summary of the statewide findings from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), with highlights of changes from 2003 to 2005. In dozens of easy-to-read tables and graphs, the report features more than 80 health indicators on topics that include asthma, obesity, health insurance and health care access. It shows findings by age, gender, race and ethnicity, income level and health insurance status. The information was collected over two survey periods, allowing the report's authors to note significant changes between 2003 and 2005 in the health of Californians. Conducted every two years, CHIS is the nation's largest state health survey and CHIS data represents the most up-to-date and comprehensive information on the health of Californians. CHIS is conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health, the Department of Health Care Services and the Public Health Institute.

Compiled with data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey, this study found that more than 2.9 million low-income adults in California lack sufficient resources to adequately put food on the table on a stable basis and thus are considered "food insecure." Among these food insecure adults, almost 900,000 suffer from episodes of hunger, while the remaining two million live precariously at risk for hunger month to month. In addition to the statewide findings, the report estimates food insecurity within each county and smaller-county consolidation, determining that food insecurity and hunger are found throughout California with prevalence of food insecurity varying significantly, from a low of 20.4% to a high of 45.2%. The prevalence of having experienced hunger also varied significantly across the state from a low of 3.7% to a high of 21.1%. The publication also examines food insecurity and hunger across many vulnerable populations, including ethnicity. Low-income African Americans and Latinos have higher proportions of food insecure adults (37.3% and 38.2%, respectively) than do Whites, 28.1%, while Asians, 23.8%, are least likely of all low-income groups to be food insecure. African American adults have the highest proportion reporting episodes of hunger, 13.8% compared to 12.1% of Whites and 9.7% of Latinos. Asians have the lowest proportion of low-income adults reporting food insecurity with hunger, only 3.9%. The authors also make several policy recommendations to address the growing problem of food insecurity, including increasing household incomes by increasing the minimum wage and expanding low-income housing to help reduce the competition between household economic pressures, such as affordable housing, child care, and health care, and adequate nutritious food. Recognizing tight budgets facing State government, the authors recommend expanding efforts to increase participation in Federal food assistance programs such as the Food Stamp program. Drawing down federal resources to reduce food insecurity in California should be a top priority.

This policy brief highlights the geographic variations in uninsured children's Medi-Cal/Healthy Family eligibility rates by state Assembly, Senate and Congressional districts, as well as by counties and the Los Angeles Service Planning Areas (SPAs). Funded by The California Endowment, the brief is particularly relevant at this time when the lack of health insurance among children is becoming a focus of state and national policymakers as well as advocacy groups, including the recently approved expansion of the Healthy Families program by the Department of Health and Human Services. Uninsured-eligibility rates were estimated by applying a small-area methodology to multiple data sources, including the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001), 2000-2002 Current Population Surveys, and the 2000 Census. Among the key findings are: The areas in the state that had notably high numbers of uninsured-and-eligible children were located primarily in the greater Southern California and Central Valley regions of the state. Almost one out of every three California child who was uninsured-and-eligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families in 2002 lived in a geographic area with uninsured-eligibility rates at or below the statewide average. Key Policy Recommendation Public and private efforts currently underway to improve the outreach and enrollment of eligible children can be complemented by statewide initiatives such as fully implementing "express lane eligibility" that automatically enrolls children who qualify for free and subsidized school lunches.

This policy brief highlights the geographic variations in asthma rates among all Californians for state legislative and Congressional districts. The information is particularly relevant at this time as new asthma cases continue to arise in the population. The first of-its-kind sub-county data are useful for policy makers, advocates, and medical providers who are working to address the growing problem of asthma throughout California and within local communities. Asthma symptom rates were estimated by applying a small-area methodology to multiple data sources, including the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001), 2000-2002 Current Population Surveys, and the 2000 Census.

This policy brief draws upon CHIS 2007 data to examine latest trends in health insurance for the state of California. The authors found that nearly a quarter of all Californians under age 65 –- or 6.4 million people -– were without health insurance for all or some of 2007. This number represents 19.5% of all Californians under age 65, which is slightly lower than the uninsured rate of 20.2% in 2005. However, the authors note that although the data was collected during a period of relative economic strength, the gains were small and are now likely to be reversed by the 2008-2009 recession.