Services
DEI Leaders FutureGood Studio FutureProof Masterminds Retreats Scenario Planning Speaking Strategic Visioning
Who We Serve
Nonprofit Consulting Funder Consulting
About
What is Futurism? About Us Team Case Studies
Resources & Events
Blog DEI Resources FutureGood in the News Q&A Sessions Webinars
Store
Let's Connect

In-Depth:
The Medi-Cal Healthcare System

Case Study 

Centering Medi-Cal Member Voices in California's Health Equity Roadmap 

Background 

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), in partnership with the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), launched the Medi-Cal Health Equity Roadmap initiative to engage Medi-Cal members, communities of color, and historically underserved communities in shaping a more equitable health care delivery system. 

This initiative is part of DHCS's ongoing commitment to create a stronger Medi-Cal health care delivery system that puts patient needs and experiences first. 

 

Challenge

DHCS and CHCF sought a partner to help design and facilitate a listening process that would do more than gather feedback on current challenges. They wanted a process that could help Medi-Cal members imagine a better future and identify the strategies, priorities, and experiences that should inform the Health Equity Roadmap. 

The process needed to be accessible, transparent, and grounded in trust, especially for members whose voices have often been excluded from health care decision-making. 

Pale green text box

FutureGood's Approach

FutureGood designed and facilitated a statewide listening process that invited Medi-Cal members to move beyond identifying barriers and into imagining the future they wanted to experience. 

The process centered accessibility, trust, and community partnership. Through online and in-person feedback sessions, FutureGood created spaces where members could: 

  • Share their lived experiences with the Medi-Cal system. 
  • Describe what would make care feel more accessible and equitable.
  • Offer ideas for improvement grounded in possibility, not just problem-solving. 

By beginning with possibility, the conversations generated feedback that was both practical and future-facing, producing insight that DHCS and CHCF could translate directly into roadmap priorities. 

 Impact Snapshot 

What Emerged 

The listening tour gathered feedback from Medi-Cal members across California, centering on individuals enrolled in Medi-Cal and their lived experiences with the health care delivery system. 

Participants shared what was working, where the system created barriers, and what an ideal future for Medi-Cal could look like. Their feedback helped illuminate the experiences, priorities, and opportunities that DHCS and CHCF could consider in developing the Health Equity Roadmap. 

By centering member voices, the process helped develop a broader understanding of what equitable, accessible, and member-centered care could become. 

 

Why it Matters

The Medi-Cal Health Equity Roadmap listening process demonstrated the power of future-focused engagement. When people are invited to imagine what is possible, they can offer more than feedback. They can help shape the direction of systems that affect their lives. 

For DHCS and CHCF, this process created a transparent and accessible way to gather community insight and translate it into meaningful considerations for the future of Medi-Cal. 

For FutureGood, the project reflected a core belief: communities should not only be consulted about the future. They should help design it. 

 

Read the Report

The listening tour findings were synthesized into a report designed to inform the Medi-Cal Health Equity Roadmap and support DHCS’s ongoing commitment to member-centered, equitable care.