Health Net Supports the Rural County Representatives of California to Increase Health Equity for Residents in Remote Areas

Date: 10/05/22

With limited access to the internet or a lack of public transportation, rural county residents can often encounter difficulties accessing healthcare services. The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) represents 39 of California's rural counties and advocates on their behalf, providing legislative and regulatory representation at the state and federal levels to increase health equity.

Amber Kemp, Vice President and Medi-Cal Regional Lead for Health Net, addressed attendees during the RCRC annual meeting on September 14-16, 2022. Over this two-day event, the 100+ attendees, including elected Supervisors representing the 39 counties, heard from keynote speakers on a variety of topics, such as:

• Recipe Book for Recovery and a Viable Tourism and Recreation Economy
• Broadband Demystified
• Flavors of the Political Stew & Forecasts for 2024
• Recession, Rural Counties in California and 2025: Now What?
• Insights of a Bi-Partisan Political Advisor in the Age of Picking Sides
• A Conversation About City-County Relations

To serve a rural member's holistic needs—and to overcome geographical barriers—Health Net prioritizes things like access to care, transportation and workforce development, and invests heavily in telehealth solutions.

In fact, we have provided more than $3.4 million to organizations serving rural communities since 2017. Some of these investments include:

• $190,000 in Telehealth grants to 19 provider organizations servicing members of the Rural North
• $100,000 to Butte County Office of Education for The Center for Learning & Resilience
• $50,000 to Sierra Community Medical Foundation supporting the Rural Partnerships to Reduce Health Disparities Project to improve rural health systems
• $25,000 to Chapa de Indian Health to expand pharmacy data collection and manage PCP to clinical pharmacist handoff
• $25,000 to Lighthouse Counseling & Family Resource Center – Preventing ACEs in the Age of COVID-19 initiative
• $25,000 to Health Education Council for Cultivating Health and Wellbeing During COVID – to address food insecurity and mental health issues magnified by the pandemic
• $20,000 to Yuba Sutter Food Bank to help serve community members experiencing food insecurity

With over 40 years of experience serving the state's most vulnerable residents, Health Net continues our work to increase health equity and improve the whole-person health of all Californians. Learn about our industry-leading efforts to combat food insecurity, housing insecurity and more.