Regional Health Care Market Studies Identify Emerging California Trends

New Sacramento and Riverside/San Bernardino Market Reports Available

Media Advisory
Sept. 20, 2012

FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alwyn Cassil (202) 264-3484 or acassil@hschange.org

WASHINGTON, DC—Increased pressure on hospitals to contain costs, growing concerns about physician shortages and strained safety nets are among the trends identified in new market studies of the Sacramento and Riverside/San Bernardino regions conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC).

Funded by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) and based on interviews with local health care leaders in 2011-12, the regional market studies assess how the organization, financing and delivery of health care are changing across the state. A previous round of California site studies funded by CHCF was conducted by HSC researchers in 2008.

Sacramento: Health Providers Collaborate and Weather Economic Downturn
While hospitals and physicians in the Sacramento region weathered the economic downturn fairly well, a number of market trends have posed challenges for the area. Key findings of the market report include:

The Sacramento report is available at http://www.chcf.org/publications/2012/09/regional-market-sacramento.

Riverside/San Bernardino: Vast Region, Market Fragmentation Add to Access Woes
The vast Riverside/San Bernardino region is recovering slowly from the economic downturn, and access to care continues to be a challenge. Key findings of the market report include:

The San Bernardino/Riverside report is available at http://www.chcf.org/publications/2012/09/regional-market-riverside-san-bernardino.

In the coming months, CHCF will publish additional regional market studies of the San Francisco Bay Area, Fresno, Los Angeles and San Diego.

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The Center for Studying Health System Change is a nonpartisan policy research organization committed to providing objective and timely research on the nation’s changing health system to help inform policy makers and contribute to better health care policy. HSC, based in Washington, D.C., is affiliated with Mathematica Policy Research.