Healthcare in California is rapidly outpricing those who need it the most due to growing prices for medicine, visits and treatment. With location, insurance and availability all playing factors in choosing your next provider, it is getting all the more difficult to find health care options that are affordable and high quality.
Luckily, community clinics, student health centers and nonprofit health advocacy organizations are living proof that patients can still receive exceptional healthcare without the high premiums or stress.
More and more Americans are dissatisfied with rising costs from insurance and provider availability.
“[My neck surgery] was anywhere between $2,000 to $4,000,” London Au, a high school student said. “I’ve heard from a few people [that] they got charged 50 bucks just for a Band-Aid or some tissues when visiting the hospital. So something definitely should be done; we need more accountability.”
Other students have had to resort to care outside of the United States due to increasing costs.
“I realized it was actually cheaper to book a business class flight and stay in a hospital in Vietnam for a whole month than booking a physical therapist here,” high school student Dat Truong said. “It costs $250 to $300 in Vietnam compared to $500 to $1,500 here, even with insurance.”
Healthcare prices increased significantly in the U.S. over the past decade. (Andrew Georgy / L.A. Times HS Insider)
As a healthcare affordability expert and Associate Director at the California Health Care Foundation, Catherine Teare sees millions of Californians losing their healthcare coverage due to the new work requirements which were passed under the H.R. 1 bill, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Under this legislation, non-pregnant adults aged 19-64 must meet an 80 hours per month work requirement to maintain Medicaid eligibility beginning January 1, 2027. While it does exempt pregnant adults, disabled persons and caretakers of children under 14 (among other exceptions), it won’t stop many from delaying care.
“The direct impact is people losing their medical coverage, either because of their immigration status or because of work requirements that they are unable to meet,” Teare said. “And most of those will be working-age adults. Children are somewhat protected, although we also know that when adults in the family lose insurance, they [often] don’t keep up with the kids’ renewal.”
For those who don’t have healthcare or will lose their coverage soon, however, there are options.
“I think it’s important for people to know that they can always go to the emergency room. An emergency room cannot turn you away.” Teare said. “[But also], everybody who thinks they might be eligible for the Medi-Cal should apply for Medi-Cal … While they will be impacted, because so many people are going to be losing insurance and turning to those resources, there is a strong network in California of community health clinics that are either sliding scale or [provide] free care, and people need to take advantage of those now.”
Patients, especially students, will not have to worry about healthcare costs or availability. There are still facilities that provide high-quality care without the exorbitant fees, even with the expected influx of cases. Moreover, practices that accept Medi-Cal or larger community health centers are still viable options for anyone looking to obtain medical care.
Two examples are Family Doctors and St. Youstina Community Health Center, owned by Dr. Isaac Beshay. An award-winning family medicine physician with 20 years of experience, even if his office is busy, Dr. Beshay still believes all patients should be tended to.
Dr. Isaac Beshay opened St. Youstina Community Health Center for those who couldn’t afford to pay exorbitant prices for healthcare. (Andrew Georgy / L.A. Times HS Insider)
“It’s important [for all people to have access to healthcare] so they’re able to live longer and more comfortably, without chronic pain. That’s why we also opened St. Youstina Community Center for patients to get access to healthcare, even if they don’t have insurance,” Dr. Beshay said. “We wanted it to be cheaper and for the community.”
When patients enter his office, they’ll likely notice all the plaques hung around the walls, with awards spanning multiple years for various purposes.
“[Some of the awards we’ve won] have been for getting high scores for patient satisfaction. We’re also one of the only family practices in the area that takes Medi-Cal,” Dr. Beshay said. “I’m always trying to provide the best quality of care. But there have been some challenges: sometimes the insurance is unwilling to cover certain services.”
With California’s future healthcare funding uncertain, Dr. Beshay has one message for doctors worried about the finances: focus on your patients first, always.
“[Some advice for up and coming physicians is] to treat your patients like they’re your family, because they are in weak situations and need your help. Whatever [specialty] you work as, don’t care about the money now because the most important thing is taking care of your patient,” Dr. Beshay said.
There are many options for students and families to get health care. (Andrew Georgy / L.A. Times HS Insider)
However, even if you don’t have Medi-Cal or you’re a student looking for more readily available and proximal care, you still have options. Most private and public universities or colleges (including local community colleges) have Student Health Centers which exclusively provide care to enrolled students. Many of these CC’s also have health options for concurrently enrolled high school students if they opt-in and pay a health fee.
Student Health Centers provide a variety of services for short-term care, including cold and flu, pink eye, allergies, women’s health and simple cuts and sprains. While they are often unequipped to deal with chronic issues like diabetes, high blood pressure or cancer, they can still refer and guide students to the right resources.
The Student Health Center at GWC provides many free services and health kits for students who pay the semester health fee. (Andrew Georgy / L.A. Times HS Insider)
“[The Student Health Center] gives away a lot of free stuff and is usually cheaper than normal healthcare. I think it’s a great resource,” Truong said.
Dr. Judy Cheng-Chen manages the mental and medical health services as the Center Director of the Student Health Center at Golden West College (GWC). She manages a variety of services, including making sure the Student Health Center complies with all of the laws that are required of a medical health center and assisting students with obtaining the care they need.
“I never turn away students, [because] even if we can’t take care of your issue, we can help refer students, or connect them to community clinics,” Dr. Cheng-Chen said. “Depending on the insurance, like PPO, we can show them local specialists and help them call to take appointments. Generally, if they are uninsured, we refer them to OC Public Health [Care Agency] or community health clinics for things like STI testing or specialized/mental health needs. But we can also refer [students] to so many different things.”
Dr. Cheng-Chen also pointed out the importance of free health kits, which include items such as Narcan, drink spike kits and fentanyl strips and are provided from reputable sources like the California Department of Public Health and Think Twice according to lead registered nurse Angeline Adkins.
“We don’t have a lot of students coming in for [health kits]. More students [could utilize these kits] but they are hesitant due to stigma, or they’re not aware,” Dr. Cheng-Chen said.
GWC’s Student Health Center is medically staffed with physicians like Dr. Jones Fishman. (Andrew Georgy / L.A. Times HS Insider)
Despite serving over 1000 students in the 2025-2026 academic year, Dr. Cheng-Chen doesn’t believe the health center is understaffed or overwhelmed and that the quality of care is still excellent.
“On the medical side we are fully staffed and make sure that we can function up to the standard of care. But on the mental health side, it is challenging to hire therapists, so that’s why we’ve collaborated with TimelyCare (an online mental health service), just so that there aren’t any gaps in our service,” Dr. Cheng-Chen said.
As for the fees? Well, they’re increasing… from $22 to $23 for the next summer term, and $28 for each fall and spring semester next year to access the Student Health Center; most services range from no fee to $30 for a physical exam.
With low prices, high quality providers and accessible healthcare, Dr. Cheng-Chen wants students to utilize the health center as meant: for their benefit and well-being.
“I would love for students to know that we are here for [them]. Our mission is to keep them healthy both physically and emotionally so they can succeed in their academic endeavors,” Dr. Cheng-Chen said.
While some patients and students may be unable to afford the services they’re used to now, there are still avenues to obtain the support and services needed at low or no costs. The solution isn’t to delay the care required, but rather finding resources in the community. Whether it be through a student health center, reaching out to nonprofit organizations or finding a community health center nearby, the answer isn’t withdrawing more funds from bank accounts; it’s looking a few blocks down for help.
