Mission Statement: The Center helps to guide public policy by creating the data and conducting the research needed to understand today's complex health care market. It provides up-to-date information on changes in the health care system that may impact the health care marketplace and alter its capacity to provide high-quality care at competitive prices. It assesses issues related to the welfare of California consumers, especially affordability, availability, and access to health care, with a particular focus on low and moderate-income consumers. It concerns itself with the role of consumer choice and participation of front-line workers in the health care delivery system. It conducts studies and provides objective information to lawmakers, regulators, consumer-advocates, health care providers and the public at large.
The source of the initial $2 million funding for The Nicholas C. Petris Center was through the disposition of a State of California government trust fund in May 1999. The funding was to provide for research "... on health care markets and consumer welfare in the areas of consumer protection, the affordability of and access to health care, especially by low and moderate income consumers, the role of information in consumer choice and concentration, regulation and competition in the health care sector as well as other related areas of inquiry." 1
Since its founding, the Petris Center has also received funding that has been related to specific research projects and has come from the following public and private agencies:
The purpose of the study is to track the implementation of Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act, including the county-level fiscal impact and changes in service delivery and the impact on selected mental health outcomes. Information gathered in this study will be used to inform policymakers, consumers and providers about the impact of funds on the availability and design of mental health services.
This study examines how changes in hospital service mix played a role in influencing the financial viability of California general acute care hospitals between 1995 and 2000.
This study will examine access to care and oral health using the California Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (BRFS) (1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004). It will also use the Adult 2003 CHIS to look at the demand for and access to adult dental care. This will be a check on the BRFS data and will also yield more variation at the county level to determine regional effects.
The professions of dental hygienist and dental assistant are critical to California's oral health care system. Expert opinions differ about whether there is a workforce crisis in these two professions. To inform this discussions, the Petris Center has undertaken an examination for the California labor market for these two professional groups from 1997 to 2005. We address the following questions: Was there a labor shortage of dental hygienists and dental assistants starting around 1999? Is there currently a labor shortage of dental hygienists and dental assistants? This report was jointly funded by the California Dental Association Foundation and the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare.
Recent legislative proposals in California — Senate Bill 19, Assembly Bill 75, the initiative being sponsored by Health Access, as well as other proposed legislation — could have significant impact on prescription drug access for millions of Californians. The study updates the estimates of uninsured populations and their characteristics, and reviews existing programs that are designed to improve their access to prescription medications. This study was supported by The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and The Nicholas C. Petris Center.
Attempts to answer a critical question in health economics research: Does diversity pay? The research sought to determine if there exist positive wage differentials for minority physicians who work in predominantly minority communities, controlling for other important wage determinants.
This research provides an economic and policy analysis of the variation in psycho-stimulant use for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder in children. The main goal of this project is to understand the economic and policy sources of these dramatic variations, based on California data.
The Senior Scientist Award (K05) provides stability of support to outstanding scientists who have demonstrated a sustained, high level of productivity and whose expertise, research accomplishments, and contributions to the field have been and will continue to be critical to the mission of the particular NIH center or institute. The award provides salary support for award periods of up to five years as a means of enhancing the individual recipient's skills and dedication to his/her area of research. The Senior Scientist Award (K05) permits NIH institutes and centers to identify and support exceptionally talented investigators who are well established in their field of research.
The study focuses on the supply of African-American and Hispanic physicians available to African-American and Hispanic populations. We will begin by describing the problem of racial and ethnic disparities that partially result from differences in the medical care that racial/ethnic minorities receive. We will then present a literature review indicating that the lack of physician-patient racial/ethnic concordance impedes the optimal delivery of medical care to minorities. We will also present evidence that improving racial/ethnic concordance is constrained by the overall shortage of minority physicians.
In working toward the elimination of tobacco use in California, we are proposing a novel approach to reducing smoking behavior. Although research on community social capital (CSC)-the level of participation in civic, social, or religious organizations of individuals within a community-is still in its infant stages, the findings thus far signal that it is an important factor in influencing healthy behaviors and is worth investigating further. In particular, even though the reductions in smoking attributed to social capital may not be as large as the effects for cigarette price augmentations, preliminary work has revealed that social capital may reduce smoking as much as anti-smoking social marketing campaigns. Thus, if the relationship between social capital and smoking can be more thoroughly understood, it may provide policymakers with a powerful new tool to control tobacco use in California.
1 Stipulated Order For Modification And Alternative Final Disposition Of Governmental Trust Fund, Case No. 739024, May 28, 1999, Superior Court Of The State Of California, San Francisco.
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Project Title:
Social Capital and Cardiovascular Health in CaliforniaDates of Activity:
September 1, 2002 to September 30, 2004Amount Awarded:
$300,000This study examined the association between community indicators of social capital and cardiovascular disease outcomes using multilevel survival analysis strategies.