Health Equity

How health care costs are squeezing state social spending

Abstract: Shannon Brownlee and Vikas Saini from the Lown Institute and Benjamin F. Miller from Well Being Trust discuss how state budgets are being squeezed by health care costs and what we can do about it.

Date Published: December 12, 2019

Author(s): Shannon Brownlee, Vikas Saini, Benjamin F. Miller

Publication: Health Affairs

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This analysis of California’s state budget from 2007 to 2018 finds that to ensure the long-term health of the state, California needs to eliminate health care waste and direct the savings toward increased funding for programs that improve community conditions—like public education, public health, housing assistance, food assistance, and income support.