California Health Professional Student Alliance

What California Health Professional Student Alliance does

California Health Professional Student Alliance (CaHPSA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit student advocacy organization founded in 2005 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It operates as the official student section of California Physicians Alliance (CaPA), cultivating leadership and advocacy skills among health professional students to support universal, equitable healthcare access in California. The organization's membership comprises over 3,000 undergraduates, medical students, graduate students, post-baccalaureates, and recent college graduates organized across campus chapters at UCLA, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, UC Davis, and UC Berkeley.

CaHPSA delivers its mission through a portfolio of programs rather than a technology product. Core programs include Project White Coat (training students as Covered California Certified Enrollment Counselors who help families enroll in Medi-Cal and Covered California), the annual Lobby Day in Sacramento (500+ attendees combining advocacy training with legislative visits), the ActivateU Conference, Health4All Conferences, a Summer Internship launched in 2021, and a Mentorship Program launched in 2022 with UC Davis School of Medicine. The organization also engages in legislative advocacy supporting California state bills related to healthcare coverage expansion. The technology footprint is minimal, consisting of a standard website, email newsletter, and social media presence (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram) used for member communications and event promotion.

The business model is donation-based: CaHPSA operates as a program of California Physicians Alliance and is funded by tax-deductible charitable contributions accepted via check and through the Classy.org online donation platform. Membership is free, programs are offered at no cost to participants, and the organization has no external venture capital or institutional investment structure. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on campus-based chapter recruitment, peer referrals, grassroots organizing, and flagship annual events to recruit members, deliver services, and pursue its policy advocacy objectives.

Name

California Health Professional Student Alliance

Legal name

California Health Professional Student Alliance

Website

https://cahpsa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

California Health Professional Student Alliance (CaHPSA) is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) non-profit student advocacy organization serving 3,000+ health professional students across California. It cultivates healthcare advocacy skills through campus chapters, Project White Coat enrollment counseling, and annual Lobby Day.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Advocacy Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGADAI

Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYEDAMAIAG

Leadership, Character Education & Values Development

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Life Skills & Personal Development (Study Skills, Executive Function, SEL)

SECONDARYBPADAIAL

Community Health, Health Promotion & Behavior Change (SBCC)

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Global Health & Population Programs

Keywords

• Student health advocacy
• Healthcare policy advocacy
• Community health outreach
• Health enrollment assistance
• Grassroots advocacy training

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: CaHPSA operates as a program of California Physicians Alliance, a 501c3 charitable organization. Revenue is generated through tax-deductible donations from supporters. Donations can be made by check (mailed to CaPA office) or through the Classy.org online donation platform.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CaHPSA is a student-led nonprofit advocacy organization that cultivates leadership and advocacy skills among health professional students through grassroots organizing, education, and community outreach. It runs a portfolio of programs including Project White Coat (which certifies students as Certified Enrollment Counselors to help families enroll in Medi-Cal and Covered California), campus chapters at California universities, the annual Lobby Day in Sacramento, the ActivateU Conference, a summer internship, and a mentorship program pairing undergraduates with medical students.

Product overview

California Health Professional Student Alliance (CaHPSA) is a student-led advocacy organization that operates as the student section of California Physicians Alliance (CaPA). The organization does not offer a technology product but runs a portfolio of advocacy programs including Project White Coat (enrollment counseling for Medi-Cal/Covered California), campus Chapters (at UCLA, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC Berkeley), the annual Lobby Day event in Sacramento, ActivateU Conference, Summer Internship, Mentorship Program, and Health4All Conferences. These programs collectively aim to cultivate health advocacy leadership among over 3,000 students and advocate for universal healthcare coverage for all Californians.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Project White Coat: Program that trains students as Certified Enrollment Counselors and mobilizes them throughout California to help people enroll in Medi-Cal and Covered California health plans.
• ActivateU Conference
• Lobby Day
• Health4All
• Mentorship Program

Products and services

• Project White Coat Program that trains students as Certified Enrollment Counselors (CEC) through Covered California certification and mobilizes them to help California residents enroll in Medi-Cal and Covered California health plans, providing free, informed, and objective enrollment assistance to families.
• Lobby Day Annual flagship event held in Sacramento, California, attended by over 500 pre-health and medical students, health professionals, and community health activists. Includes a Health4All Leadership and Training Conference followed by legislative visits to elected officials.
• ActivateU Conference Annual conference providing students opportunities to learn about advocacy and political engagement in improving healthcare, empowering students to become engaged in the political process and effectively advocate for healthcare justice.
• CaHPSA Campus Chapters Student-led chapters at California universities and colleges (including UCLA, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC Berkeley) that provide health advocacy education, faculty mentorship, legislative visits, and networking opportunities for undergraduates, medical students, graduate students, and recent graduates.
• Summer Internship Program Four-week virtual internship program launched in 2021 for undergraduate and recent graduate students to learn about health policy and advocacy. Students receive training from guest speakers and present end-of-program projects.
• Mentorship Program Program pairing undergraduate students with medical students, launched in 2022 with the UC Davis School of Medicine chapter, to develop more medical school chapters throughout California.
• CaHPSA Membership Free membership providing e-newsletters, special event invitations, and access to CaHPSA's network of over 3,000 health professional students advocating for universal healthcare.
• Health4All Conferences Educational and networking conferences focused on health equity and advocacy for healthcare coverage regardless of documentation status.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500 families helped enroll in Medi-Cal or health plans through Project White Coat
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• California Physicians Alliance (CaPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaHPSA is the official student section of California Physicians Alliance (CaPA). CaPA's mission is to advocate, educate, and organize physicians and other health professionals to support creating a socially just and universal healthcare system. CaPA provides organizational support, board representation (3 reserved seats for CaHPSA), and access to physician network for student advocacy efforts.
• Covered CaliforniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject White Coat program certifies students as Certified Enrollment Counselors (CEC) through Covered California's training program. Students then provide free enrollment assistance for Medi-Cal and Covered California health plans under Covered California's certification framework.
• Health Access CaliforniaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaHPSA supports efforts by Health Access California and statewide partners advocating for healthcare justice. Collaboration on legislative initiatives and shared advocacy campaigns for universal healthcare in California.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• American Medical Student Association (AMSA): National medical student organization with advocacy programming on healthcare access and policy; AMSA's student chapters and health policy campaigns are structurally analogous to CaHPSA's chapter model.
• Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN): National nonprofit coalition advocating for universal healthcare; UHCAN's network model and emphasis on grassroots organizing for healthcare justice directly parallel CaHPSA's mission and tactics.
• Health Access California: California's leading healthcare consumer advocacy coalition; CaHPSA explicitly partners with Health Access California on legislative campaigns and shares the universal-coverage advocacy mission.
• Doctors for America: Physician advocacy organization mobilizing doctors and trainees for healthcare reform; shares CaHPSA's grassroots organizing approach and focus on trainee-driven policy advocacy.
• Students for a National Health Program (SNaHP): National student arm of Physicians for a National Health Program; SNaHP organizes health professional students around single-payer advocacy with chapters at medical schools, directly paralleling CaHPSA's mission at a national scope.

Broad incumbents

• Public Citizen: National consumer advocacy nonprofit with active healthcare reform advocacy; shares CaHPSA's grassroots mobilization approach and policy-driven mission around access to care.
• California Physicians Alliance (CaPA): Parent 501c3 organization and direct sponsor of CaHPSA; CaPA advocates for universal healthcare in California through physician-led advocacy and provides governance and fundraising infrastructure to CaHPSA.
• Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP): National physician advocacy organization for single-payer healthcare; the broader umbrella under which SNaHP operates and shares ideological alignment and policy priorities with CaHPSA/CaPA.

Regional players

• California Hospital Association: Statewide healthcare industry association representing California hospitals; operates in the same policy arena on healthcare coverage and access issues that CaHPSA engages with through its legislative advocacy.

Emerging players

• National Association of Community Health Workers: Organization supporting community health workers including those doing enrollment navigation work similar to CaHPSA's Project White Coat CEC program; overlaps on the community health enrollment mission.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CaHPSA
• Facebookfacebook.com/CaHPSA
• Instagraminstagram.com/cahpsa_statewide

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about California Health Professional Student Alliance