Project Mentor: Professor Michael Gusmano, College of Health
Continuing Fellows:
Nathan Balderas '27
Asser Omar '27
Nikitha Ram '26
Kasey Vanegas '27
Megan Thomas '27
2025 Impact Fellows:
Mackenzie Barlow '28
Samantha Myers '27
Lara Parada-Tixe '27
Grace Salembier '28
Isabelle Waksman '27
Project Description:
What policies are needed to help uninsured residents in San Francisco access healthcare more efficiently and effectively, and what can other cities learn from San Francisco's experiences?
This project will study how safety-net health care systems in San Francisco, Houston, and New York City are allocating resources, undertaking local experiments to improve access to health care, and defining their obligations to some of society’s most vulnerable members. We will identify and analyze the formal and informal policies of three of the nation’s largest cities. How is health care to uninsured residents actually provided in each of the three cities? Where are the gaps and what are providers’ uncertainties in these systems of care in each city?
In year one, we will 1) draw on census and other local survey data to compare the changing demographic, health and socioeconomic characteristics of each city; 2) conduct a critical review of relevant policies and programs and 3) conduct in-depth interviews with advocates, medical professionals and policy makers in each city. The project will lead to several peer-reviewed journal articles describing and analyzing key findings from each city, and to policy recommendations that may be adopted by other communities across the U.S. The team will prepare reports and briefings for presentation to policy makers in these cities and to organizations such as the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Governors Association.