The Listening to Black Californians survey highlighted black women on Medi-Cal. This group is more likely than Black Californians overall to report negative experiences and discrimination in the healthcare system.
|
Takeaway Interviews, focus groups, and statewide surveys of black women using Medi-Cal revealed that despite being involved in the health care system, they experienced discrimination and other forms of discrimination during health care visits. The shared stories of women who too often encounter negative experiences come to light. Providers and policy makers have a direct opportunity to ensure that these women build trust with their providers and receive the care they need without discrimination. |
Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, provides health insurance to low-income individuals. This covers his one in three Californians, and black Californians made up 6.9% of his Medi-Cal entitlements in 2022.
The study included 1-hour interviews with 13 women on Medi-Cal, two focus groups of Medi-Cal participants, and 383 female Medi-Cal survey respondents.
Main findings
Black women with Medi-Cal are more active in their physical and mental health
The majority (93%) of black women with Medi-Cal reported having at least one medical visit in the last year. The majority of female respondents using Medi-Cal (80%) said they received screening and preventive care, focused on mental health (82%), and actively reduced stress (82%). ). A woman of childbearing age on Medi-Cal (85%) said she was “much less likely” to focus on her mental health than a woman over the age of 50 on Medi-Cal (73%). ” or “considerable” efforts.
Nearly half (46%) of women on Medi-Cal put “a lot” or “a lot” of effort into seeking a non-Western approach to health care.
Women with Medi-Cal report many negative health care experiences, including inadequate treatment of pain
At each stage of Listening to Black Californians, Medi-Cal women shared similar stories of discrimination and negative treatment from the health system, being “dismissed, ignored, and spoken to disrespectfully” by doctors and nurses. I talked to Women using Medi-Cal are significantly more likely than other respondents to report specific negative experiences during health care visits. Female respondents with Medi-Cal are one of the groups most likely to report being mistreated because of their race/ethnicity. 43% compared to 31%).
In individual interviews and focus groups, female participants repeatedly shared instances in which their pain was ignored, untreated, or misdiagnosed. half (52%) reported experiencing inadequate pain treatment, significantly higher than female respondents with other types of insurance.
Black women avoid care out of fear of abuse
Given the high rate of negative health care experiences, it may come as no surprise that black women with Medi-Cal often avoid care. Nearly 4 in 10 female Medi-Cal respondents (39%) were treated fairly or respectfully compared to 1 in 4 (26%) of female respondents overall. They report avoiding going to doctors or hospitals because they feel insecure.
Key Action Areas
Health care providers and policy makers have the opportunity to take concrete and comprehensive actions to address the inequalities outlined by women in this research, including:
- Help women on Medi-Cal find and ensure access to qualified health care providers or facilities.
- Gives healthcare providers incentives to build trust and maintain caring relationships with female patients on Medi-Cal.
- Focus on pain management for women on Medi-Cal, especially women of childbearing age.