This explainer includes an explanation of CHBRP, an overview of health insurance coverage in California, vocabulary to know for a better understanding of health policy legislation, and useful links to several other resources and organizations that provide additional useful health policy information.
Explainer
Health Insurance in California 101: A Quick Guide to Understanding Health Insurance
This research letter in JAMA Network Open (1) documents the extent to which states have introduced or enacted mandates for coverage of nonpharmacological pain treatments and (2) describes and characterizes variation in such mandates. The findings from this study may help inform policy makers and relevant stakeholders considering legislation related to nonpharmacological pain treatments at the state and federal level.
External Publication
Health Insurance Mandates for Nonpharmacological Pain Treatments in 7 US States
This resource notes the presence or absence of a pharmacy benefit among Californians enrolled in health plans regulated by the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) and health policies regulated by the California Department of Insurance (CDI).
Resource
Pharmacy Benefit Coverage in State-Regulated Health Insurance for 2025
This explainer discusses current network adequacy standards for enrollees in California-regulated plans and policies, related federal and state regulations, and new and evolving issues that impact accessibility and coverage of health care for enrollees in California’s state-regulated insurance markets.
Explainer
Network Adequacy and Health Care Access Regulations in California
CHBRP analyzes health disparities and social determinants of health (SDOH) when evidence demonstrates that these factors influence health outcomes, providers, or access to health care tests, treatments, and services identified in the bill. Because many disparities in health outcomes have their roots in systemic racism, it is important to explore the impact that systemic racism has on health policies, practices, structures, and systems, as well as the information available to CHBRP for conducting its analyses.
Explainer
Systemic Racism and CHBRP's Health Policy Analysis
Funded by the California Health Care Foundation, CHBRP conducted a rapid literature review of literature published between January 2021 and October 2022 examining the effectiveness of telehealth as compared with in-person care. The findings are available on CHCF's website.
External Publication
Telehealth Outcomes and Impact on Care Delivery: A Review of Evidence
CHBRP, drawing on multi-disciplinary faculty and researchers based at the University of California, provides the California Legislature with timely, independent, and rigorous evidence-based analyses of introduced health insurance benefits-related legislation.
