Removing barriers to care ensures members connect to the screenings they need
ORANGE, Calif. (June 10, 2025) — To offer services where members are, CalOptima Health and Northgate Gonzalez Market partnered for the first time this past month to provide no-cost mammograms in the parking lot of Northgate’s Anaheim grocery store. CalOptima Health contracted with Alinea Medical Imaging for a state-of-the-art mobile mammography vehicle to be on-site to provide breast cancer screening to members and women who are uninsured.
According to new data released in May by the Orange County Health Care Agency, overall cancer deaths increased in the county from 2010 to 2024, including higher death rates from breast cancer. Screening is a vital tool to save lives, especially for Hispanic women who have a 20%–30% lower incidence of breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, but a higher mortality rate due to factors such as later-stage diagnosis, limited access to health care and lower screening rates.
Bringing clinical services to members in the community is part of a strategy to boost health outcomes for all, according to Dr. Michaell Silva Rose, CalOptima Health Chief Health Equity Officer. “CalOptima Health created a Community Impact Team to do just this kind of work,” Dr. Rose said. “We are meeting members where they live and work to ensure they connect to essential services for their health and wellness. Health care accessibility is a priority for our health plan, which serves more than 900,000 members across Orange County.”
This effort is related to CalOptima Health’s Comprehensive Community Cancer Screening and Support program, which was launched in 2023 with the goal of lowering late-stage breast, cervical, colorectal and lung cancer diagnoses in Orange County. To promote the program and cancer screening awareness, CalOptima Health created a new section of our website at www.caloptima.org/cancer. It provides information about who needs which type of cancer screening and how often.
CalOptima Health contracts with Alinea Medical Imaging for state-of-the-art mobile mammography services to provide breast cancer screenings to members in the community.
About CalOptima Health
A county organized health system, CalOptima Health provides quality health care coverage for low-income children, adults, seniors and people with disabilities in Orange County, California. CalOptima Health’s mission is to serve member health with excellence and dignity, respecting the value and needs of each person. CalOptima Health serves nearly 902,000 members with a network of more than 8,600 primary care doctors and specialists and 41 acute and rehab hospitals. Visit www.caloptima.org.