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Closing the Care Gap: A Call to End California Healthcare Deserts

With over six million Californians living in areas critically short of healthcare providers, preventable illnesses are going unchecked, leading to avoidable illness and skyrocketing costs. In communities across the state, from rural towns to underserved urban neighborhoods, people are living in healthcare deserts where routine checkups, early interventions and preventive care are luxuries rather than guarantees. This isn’t just a gap in care—it’s a systemic failure demanding urgent action.

Healthcare deserts, where residents cannot easily access medical services, are particularly common in rural communities, but urban areas are not immune. It’s a crisis that leaves entire regions disconnected from preventive care and forces them to rely on costly emergency interventions.

In California, around 6 million residents reside in areas designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), underscoring a significant lack of access to care. And only 54% of California’s primary care needs were met in 2023, leaving millions without adequate care access.[1]

Even when access is available, many individuals remain disconnected from receiving regular medical care. Nearly a third of Americans lack a primary care provider[2], and even among those who have one, adherence to annual visits is inconsistent. In California, where some rural areas only have about 40 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents[3], there is an urgent need for new solutions.

This disengagement isn’t just a personal health risk; it drives up costs for the entire system. A peer-reviewed study found that the first primary care visit for high-risk patients can save over $16,000 in long-term healthcare costs.[4] Yet too many people don’t take that first step. These figures paint a stark picture, but they also illuminate an urgent opportunity for transformation. We must bridge this care gap by fundamentally rethinking how care is delivered.

A Blue-Print for California

California’s challenges demand targeted, scalable solutions. Here’s how we can make meaningful progress: 

1. Expand Mobile and Virtual Healthcare Solutions: Mobile health clinics and telemedicine can bring care to the doorstep of underserved populations. These models reduce the need for travel and can provide preventive services directly in communities that lack brick-and-mortar facilities.
2. Attract, Support, and Retain Healthcare Providers: Addressing healthcare deserts requires not only retaining skilled healthcare professionals, but bringing additional providers in to underserved areas. By offering professional development opportunities, creating supportive work environments, and leveraging innovative care delivery models like mobile clinics and combined virtual and deployable care models, we can attract clinicians to regions in need, ensure that professionals in these critical roles find fulfillment and longevity and deliver care where it’s needed most.
3. Embrace Value-Based Care: Moving away from fee-for-service models to value-based care prioritizes patient outcomes over volume, aligning incentives for proactive and preventive care. This shift has been proven to improve outcomes while reducing costs. 
4. Leverage Data and Predictive Analytics: Advanced analytics can help identify at-risk populations, allowing for targeted interventions that address healthcare gaps before they escalate. 

A Call to Action

Healthcare deserts and disengagement from primary care are not insurmountable problems. They are symptoms of a system that has prioritized reactive, episodic care over proactive, preventive models.

California’s healthcare future doesn’t require building hospitals in every town; it depends on reimagining how care is delivered. By meeting patients where they are—through mobile clinics, telehealth, and innovative care models—we can make healthcare more accessible and equitable for all. Together, providers, policymakers, and innovators can bridge the gaps in care and create a system where geography and circumstance no longer dictate health outcomes.

[1] https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/primary-care-health-professional-shortage-areas-hpsas

[2] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2023/02/28/americans-lack-primary-care-provider-report/11359096002/

[3] https://healthpolicy.ucla.edu/news/california-grapples-primary-care-provider-shortage/ 

[4] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/21501319221141792