California takes step toward health equity fund

Under the Legislature’s budget agreement, $100 million will be earmarked for a health disparities grant program

The state of California has moved closer to creating a health equity fund, as the state Legislature’s budget agreement would allocate $100 million of its budget to the current health disparities grant program, the Health Equity Initiative and Racial Innovation.

In its budget proposal, the Legislature proposed $115 million a year to support health equity and racial equity measures, including $100 million in grants to community-based organizations, clinics and tribal organizations to address health disparities and $15 million for transgender wellness. and Equity Fund “on an ongoing basis.

The bill creating the fund, AB1038, was sponsored by Assemblyman Mike Gipson and passed in the Assembly on a bipartisan vote of 62: 2.

“The legacy of structural racism and underinvestment in communities has led to a disproportionate burden of largely preventable pre-existing medical, economic and other injustices in low-income communities and communities of color in California,” said Mary Pittman, CEO and president of the Public Health Institute in a statement. “That’s why the Public Health Institute, along with partners, called for the creation of and investment in the California Health Equity and Racial Justice Fund. The fund is our opportunity – our imperative – to make health equity and racial justice part of California’s DNA.”

“We support the need for grants to address health disparities and look forward to working with the Office of Health Equity to provide communities with the flexibility and opportunities to address the root causes of disparities such as housing, food and work. safety and safe communities that they consider important in their neighborhoods and that are inextricably linked to health outcomes,” Pittman added.

She added that her organization learned through its work with Together for Health, a state vaccine equity initiative, that supporting public opinion, networks and trusted messengers is the best way to build trust and promote health in communities that historically have failed government systems. Pittman said the addition of $15 million annually to create the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund is a landmark opportunity to build power and support for one of California’s most undervalued, most affected and least served communities.

The Health and Racial Equity Fund Coalition, a group working to create the fund, includes Asia Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL), Black Women’s Action Project for Wellness, Black Women’s Network of California, Black Women’s Network of California. Health Project, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, Public Health Advocates, Public Health Institute, Roots Community Health Center, and Roots of Change.

In a statement, he called the foundation “a bold and innovative proposal that addresses both the social determinants of health and structural racism. Our package seeks both to transform social conditions and institutional/government systems for health equity and racial justice, as well as to reduce specific health and social disparities. Our coalition of more than 150 advocates urges the governor to join the Legislature in this bold and necessary proposal to combat structural racism and health disparities. We look forward to working with the Legislature and Governor in the weeks leading up to the budget deadline.”