While California has made tremendous progress over the past decade in narrowing the coverage gap in health care, our systems continue to fail communities of color who fare worse on average than white people on key health indicators. These inequities can be addressed by making sure equity is prioritized in upcoming contract negotiations between the state and Medi-Cal managed care plans, based on the conclusions of our multi-year project, Centering Equity in Health Care Delivery and Payment Reform: A Guide for California Policymakers. The project was informed by focus groups which we held across the state with Black, Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, LGBTQ+ and persons with disabilities. Among the findings, participants reported facing stigma and discrimination, a lack of community centered care, and barriers to accessing quality interpreter services.Â