Framing
Public health in California reflects a mix of progress and persistent challenges. While the state offers extensive healthcare resources, disparities in access remain, with structurally disadvantaged communities struggling to obtain adequate care. Both physical and mental health inequities are created through underlying social, economic, environmental factors which are systemic and therefore unjust. Chronic conditions like high blood pressure, affecting 28.4% of adults, and heart disease, the leading cause of death, continue to impact many residents. Mental health concerns, including anxiety and depression, contribute to rising hospitalizations and emergency visits, further straining healthcare systems. Additionally, environmental factors, such as wildfire smoke exposure, pose long-term health risks and have been linked to increased dementia rates. Pollution burdens and health disparities are especially stark between different racial and ethnic groups and income levels. Overall, it is alarming that from 2023 to 2025, average life expectancy in California has gone down from 81.0 to 79.4 years.
Policy spotlight
* Senate Bill 184 (2022): Established the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) within the Department of Health Care Access and Information. OHCA is responsible for monitoring and controlling healthcare spending, aiming to align spending growth with the state's economic growth rate. * Proposition 35, passed in 2024, permanently extends an existing tax on managed healthcare plans to fund Medi-Cal services, ensuring continued support for low-income Californians. The measure directs these funds exclusively toward healthcare services rather than replacing existing state spending. * Senate Bill 1016, the Latino and Indigenous Disparities Reduction Act, was signed into law in 2024. The legislation mandates that the California Department of Public Health collect and report detailed demographic data on Latino and Indigenous populations to better address health disparities.
Justice lens
* Health inequities in California impact life expectancy, access to care, and chronic disease rates, with disparities across race and geography. * Black Californians have the lowest life expectancy at 74.6 years, compared to 85.7 years for Asian Californians, based on 2022 data. * Native communities in California face significant health disparities, with a life expectancy of 71.8 years and suicide rates of 28.1 deaths per 100,000 people, the highest among all racial and ethnic groups. They are also 2.3 times more likely to die from diabetes than white individuals. * In 2021, 18% of Latino and Latina Californians lacked a usual source of care, and 15% delayed care, with 38% citing cost as the reason. * Rural northern California experiences higher rates of lung cancer, respiratory diseases, drug-induced liver diseases, and suicides due to elevated tobacco use, substance use, and mental health challenges, compared to California overall.
Source & citation
Content on this page draws from The California Doughnut Snapshot and Report, used under CC-BY 4.0.
Aritza, A. and Kraus-Polk, J. et al. (2025). The California Doughnut Snapshot and Report. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17540639