CaHPSA – California Health Professional Student Alliance – California Health Professional Student Alliance

Health Care

is a Human Right!

Who We Are

California Health Professional Student Alliance (CaHPSA) is the student section of California Physicians Alliance (CaPA). CaHPSA aims to cultivate leadership and advocacy skills among health professional students so they can effect change in the healthcare system, primarily through grassroots efforts, education, and community outreach, in support of comprehensive, high-quality, accessible, guaranteed, and affordable health care for all Californians.

What We Do

Empower

Educate

Advocate

Mentor

Student Spotlight

Here we highlight members who have a strong record of involvement and commitment to CaHPSA’s mission. Our members include undergraduates, graduate students, medical students, post-baccalaureates, and recent college graduates.

Nimra Ahmed

MS 1, UC Riverside

Nimra Ahmed represents the Central Valley as she is originally from Tracy, CA. Today, we proudly share that Nimra has started a new chapter in her medical journey at the UC Riverside School of Medicine! Hooray for the Class of 2026! Nimra will continue serving on CaPA's Board of Directors and Legislative and Policy Committee.

Student Testimonials

“CaHPSA is the perfect fusion of political science, public health, and healthcare advocacy. It provides the environment necessary for me, an undergrad, to advocate for the human right of healthcare. Through Project White Coat, I will be able to educate and assist the vulnerable communities within San Diego by registering them for healthcare insurance.”

Nathaly Gonzalez

UC San Diego

“CaHPSA provides a voice to students in California by fostering a pragmatic, inclusive and collaborative platform for advocating and educating in order to achieve Health Equity for all.”

Matthew Musselman

Touro University

“Project White Coat has shown me the immense need for improved access to healthcare and has empowered me with the training and skills necessary to address this need.”

Jason Xu

UCLA

“CaHPSA is a program that allows me to heal and help others without the need of a medical degree. CaHPSA has allowed me to be a voice for others and contribute in a positive way to one’s health concerns, in hopes, that patients everywhere will be able to receive the treatment they deserve through the efficiency of a Single-Payer system.”

Manuel Ortega

UC Merced

Legislation We Support

The 2022 legislative session came to an end Friday, September 30th where Governor Gavin Newsom signed and vetoed a number of bills that will affect health reform in California. Although CaPA is disappointed in the opportunities missed from the vetoed bills, we celebrate with our statewide partners advocating for justice in healthcare and the achievements made this year to get us closer to a universal healthcare system! Read more from Health Access here.

SB 644 (Leyva): Connecting the Unemployed to Coverage

When Californians lose their jobs, many lose their health coverage as well. For those applying for or losing unemployment benefits, this bill requires California’s unemployment agency to share their information with Covered California in order to connect them with their coverage options.

SB 1019 (Gonzalez): Strengthening Access to Medi-Cal Mental Health for Diverse Communities

Many Californians in Medi-Cal, especially Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color do not realize that they are eligible for mental health services or face barriers to access because of the lack of linguistic and cultural competency. The bill would require Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans to provide enrollees with information on their mental health benefits, right to timely access to care, and linguistically-relevant resources on how to navigate health care plans; while collecting direct patient experiences to inform the state on how to properly close racial disparities in mental health.

SB 858 (Wiener): Health Plan Accountability

Despite the strong consumer protections for 27 million Californians in health plans regulated at the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC), many are still denied or delayed in getting medically necessary services. DMHC’s financial penalties have not been updated for decades and plans often pay the penalties instead of improving care. The bill would update penalty amounts to hold plans accountable.