Resources

As the baby boomer generation enters retirement age, the number of seniors in the United States will soon become a substantial portion of the population. This also means that the proportion of people with certain diseases will also increase since seniors are the most venerable to these certain diseases. Between now and 2030 there will be a doubling in the number of Alzheimer’s disease. Since the primary risk factor for Alzheimer’s is older age, a substantial increase should be expected in the numbers of people who will be living with the disease.

Diabetes is a serious health condition and a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to significant disability, including blindness, amputations, and kidney failure. Over 2.3 million California adults report having been diagnosed with diabetes, representing one out of every 12 adult Californians. The vast majority of diabetes cases in California are type 2, representing 1.9 million adults. The prevalence increases with age—one out of every six adult Californians aged 65 and above have type 2 diabetes—and is higher among ethnic/racial minorities and Californians with low education attainment and/or family income. Compared with non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics and African Americans have twice the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and are twice as likely to die from their disease.

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of uninsured people in California and the number of primary care physicians available has decreased over the years.  Eventually, this can leave the many working and lower class people without care. The failure of our health care system, which is unable to become cost-effective, coordinated, and provides high-quality care, does not only affect the unprivileged, but also a lot of middle class people as well. By strengthening our health care system we can manage the rise in chronic illness and allow citizens quality and affordable healthcare.

The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. We believe America can become a nation where getting healthy, staying healthy, and making sure our children grow up healthy are top priorities. We have a vision of an America where we all strive together to build a national Culture of Health that enables all in our diverse society to lead healthy lives, now and for generations to come.

Chronic health conditions can have a profound effect on people’s lives and eventually lead to serous consequences such as disability and even death. A serious problem with chronic illness is loss of information as patient’s transition from one hospital to another. Its issues like these that make it obvious that changes in the delivery of healthcare are needed to better support people with chronic illness. Healthcare providers, family, caregivers and patients all have to play a critical role in managing care for the chronic illness.

The Medicine Assistance Tool (MAT) is a search engine designed to help patients, caregivers and health care providers learn more about the resources available through the various biopharmaceutical industry programs. MAT is not its own patient assistance program, but rather a search engine for many of the patient assistance resources that the biopharmaceutical industry offers.

GoodRx is an online search tool that gathers current prices and discounts to help you find the lowest cost pharmacy for your prescriptions. It also searches drug coupons helping you get your prescriptions for cheaper, with or without insurance. GoodRx is 100% free and no personal information is required.

The Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA) advocates for consumer interests by publicly reporting health care quality data so consumers can make informed decisions. OPA’s goal is to better enable healthcare consumers to access the health care services for which they are eligible. OPA is charged with producing:

• Health Care Quality Report Cards with clinical performance and patient experience data for the state’s largest health plans, and data about clinical performance, patient experience, and total cost of care for over 200 medical groups.
• Annual Health Care Complaint Data Reports with data findings based on health care consumer complaint data and call center information submitted to OPA from the Department of Managed Health Care, Department of Health Care Services, Department of Insurance, and Covered California.
• Information about State Consumer Assistance Service Centers’ standards and protocols for responding to consumer concerns and referring calls outside of their jurisdiction.

The Chronic Care Policy Alliance is a network of state and regional health care advocacy organizations advancing public policy that improves the lives of those living with chronic conditions and diseases.

My Patient Rights is a website inspired by actual patients who have experienced denials, delays, high out-of-pocket costs, out-of-network charges and other barriers to quality, affordable health care from their health plans. My Patient Rights wants to make it easier for you to understand how to resolve issues with your health plan, reach the appropriate government agencies, file a complaint, and get the health care you deserve. If your health plan has denied any health care services or prescriptions – or if you have experienced any other barriers in your healthcare that leave you dissatisfied, My Patient Rights can help you resolve these problems.

Department of Managed Health Care Help Center: 1-888-466-2219

Residents of California have the best patient’s rights laws in the nation. The Help Center at the Department of Managed Health Care is here to explain your health care rights and help you understand how to use your health care benefits. They make sure that health plans follow the law and address all member patient issues.

• Economic Burden of Chronic Disease
• Comprehensive Medication Management Programs

Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. For 3 decades, Healthy People has established benchmarks and monitored progress over time in order to:

• Encourage collaborations across communities and sectors.
• Empower individuals toward making informed health decisions.
• Measure the impact of prevention activities.

The NFMCPA addresses the controversies, prejudices, and the life-altering effects of fibromyalgia and overlapping chronic pain conditions that millions of people experience. Combined with the recent shift in the American College of Rheumatology’s FM diagnostic criteria that now includes 42 symptoms in the patient medical assessment, these issues–all part of FM co-existing conditions–are at the core of the Association’s work to provide resources to help people live better with fibromyalgia and chronic pain conditions.

Read the full IOM report.

is the right people coming together at the right time, committed to real action that will transform the nation’s healthcare system. The 32 Partner organizations have significant influence over healthcare, uniquely positioning them to improve America’s health and healthcare system. The Partnership has a vision for world-class, affordable healthcare and is transforming healthcare from the inside out.

The mission of the Partnership for Fighting Chronic Disease is to educate the public about chronic disease and potential solutions for individuals and communities. To mobilize Americans to call for change in how governments, employers, and health institutions approach chronic disease. And finally challenge policymakers on the health policy changes that are necessary to effectively fight chronic disease.

ClinicalTrials.gov is a Web-based resource that provides patients, their family members, health care professionals, researchers, and the public with easy access to information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies on a wide range of diseases and conditions.