‘Gimme Shelter’: Why it’s so hard for homeless people to get healthcare

Many homeless Californians have significant chronic health problems. But comparatively few receive the healthcare they need.

The latest estimate of California’s homeless population tops 173,000, but less than one-third who are enrolled in the state’s healthcare program for low-income residents have ever seen a primary care doctor.

On this episode of “Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast” we explore the difficulties underlying the homeless healthcare gap. Our guest is Kristen Hwang, a reporter at CalMatters. Hwang recently detailed the experiences of street medicine teams, groups of doctors and other healthcare professionals that go out to encampments across California and provide services where homeless people are living.

“Gimme Shelter,” a biweekly podcast that looks at why it’s so expensive to live in California and what the state can do about it, features Liam Dillon, who covers housing affordability issues for the Los Angeles Times, and Manuela Tobías, housing reporter for CalMatters.

You can subscribe to “Gimme Shelter” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud and Google Podcasts.