Health Disparities

The Department of Health Care Services’ (DHCS) mission is to preserve and improve the health status of all Californians. DHCS works closely with health care professionals, county governments and health plans to provide a health care safety net for California’s low-income and persons with disabilities.

DHCS finances and administers a number of individual health care service delivery programs, including the California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal), California Children’s Services program, Child Health and Disability Prevention program and Genetically Handicapped Persons Program. DHCS also helps maintain the financial viability of critical specialized care services, such as burn centers, trauma centers and children’s specialty hospitals. In addition, DHCS funding helps hospitals and clinics located in underserved areas and those serving underserved populations.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality sponsors and conducts research that provides evidence-based information on health care outcomes; quality; and cost, use, and access. The information helps health care decisionmakers—patients and clinicians, health system leaders, purchasers, and policymakers—make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.

Agencies
The agencies perform a wide variety of tasks and services, including research, public health, food and drug safety, grants and other funding, health insurance, and many others.

The Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (OMHD) aims to accelerate CDC’s health impact in the U.S population and to eliminate health disparities for vulnerable populations as defined by race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, geography, gender, age, disability status, risk status related to sex and gender, and among other populations identified to be at-risk for health disparities.

Includes grant and program information, press releases, conference information, congressional testimony, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) strategic plan and budget to address disparities in health. NIMHD is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is an independent philanthropy focusing on the major health care issues facing the nation. The Foundation is an independent voice and source of facts and analysis for policymakers, the media, the health care community, and the general public.