BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  ACR 29
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          Date of Hearing:   April 1, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                 ACR 29 (Jones) - As Introduced:  February 19, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              Health Vote:17-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This resolution requests the California Health and Human  
          Services Agency (CHHS) to ensure, within existing resources,  
          CHHS programs and departments prevent, reduce, and eliminate  
          health disparities via interdepartmental collaboration. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          No direct fiscal impact for CHHS and associated departments to  
          continue oversight of various health programs serving the  
          diverse needs of California communities. This resolution  
          encourages the continued collaboration between departments and  
          an increased emphasis on reducing health disparities. 

          Departments within the jurisdiction of CHHS include the  
          Departments of Health Care Services, Public Health, Mental  
          Health, Developmental Services, Social Services and Aging. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . This resolution is supported by numerous groups  
            including advocates, labor unions, and the pharmaceutical  
            industry. The resolution requests that CHHS continue to  
            provide leadership and encourage collaboration between the  
            more than12 departments within its jurisdiction to identify  
            and reduce health disparities in California.  

          2)Health disparities  are well documented in communities of  
            color. When compared to health profiles of Caucasians, these  
            groups have higher incidence of chronic diseases, higher  
            mortality, and poorer health outcomes. Among the  
            disease-specific examples of racial and ethnic disparities in  








                                                                  ACR 29
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            the United States is the higher cancer incidence among African  
            Americans. In addition, African Americans and Latinos have  
            approximately twice the risk as Caucasians of developing  
            diabetes.
           
          3)Available Research Documents Health Disparities  . The existence  
            of health disparities based on race and socioeconomic factors  
            is well documented. Programmatic, policy, and clinical  
            research has demonstrated significant gaps in access to care  
            between various racial and ethnic groups. For example, the  
            Kaiser Family Foundation, the California HealthCare  
            Foundation, the University of California Berkeley and the  
            University of California Los Angeles have each published  
            research in recent years on clinical and policy issues about  
            diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and health insurance status.  
             

          4)Related Legislation  . AB 330 (Hayashi) in 2007 required the  
            Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD),  
            in conjunction with CHHS, to develop a health disparity report  
            by January 1, 2009 based on patient hospital discharge data.   
            AB 330 was held on the Suspense File of this committee.  

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081