L.A. Care History
Laying the Foundation
November 1992
- The California Department of Health Services releases the draft plan, Expanding Medi-Cal Managed Care: Reforming the Health Systems; Protecting Vulnerable Populations. The final draft is released in April 1993. It establishes the Two-Plan Model in which a locally developed health plan competes against a commercial health plan. The plan also outlines the goals and objectives of the Medi-Cal Two-Plan Model, including:
- Expand choices of physicians and medical providers
- Improve access to primary and preventive health care services
- Ensure quality of care
- Preserve the health care safe net
May 1994
- Meeting of the L.A. Care Health Plan board of governors-elect are held.
September 1994
- The Governor signs into law Senate Bill 2092 which enables creation of L.A. Care Health Plan. Shortly thereafter, the Board of Supervisors adopts a resolution establishing L.A. Care as a separate legal entity.
November 1994 through September 1995
- The Board of Governors begins laying the groundwork for the planning, development, and administration of L.A. Care. The Board adopts a model of partnering with health plans – Plan Partners – to organize and deliver services for L.A. Care members.
May 1996
- L.A. Care submits Knox-Keene application to the California Department of Corporation (DOC) and Detailed Design Application to the California Department of Health Services.
April 1997
- L.A. Care receives its license as a full-service health care service plan from the DOC to begin serving Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
September 1997
- HCFA authorizes full implementation of the Two-Plan Model in Los Angeles County and the conversion of Medi-Cal beneficiaries in mandatory categories from fee-for-service to managed care.
July 1998
- L.A. Care begins serving Los Angeles County residents in the state’s newly-launched Healthy Families program, the California equipment of the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Unlike its Medi-Cal Plan Partner model, L.A. Care contracts directly with hospitals, physicians groups and other health care services.
September 1998
- Conversion of approximately 600,000 Medi-Cal beneficiaries ends. Nearly one million beneficiaries are now enrolled in a managed health care plan in Los Angeles County.
July 2000
- L.A. Care announces the first round of grants from the Community Health Investment Fund (CHIF), the Ambulatory Care Initiative totaling $2.7 million, to expand health services to low-income and uninsured populations.
November 2001
- After conducting a nationwide search, L.A. Care announces that Howard A. Kahn is joining the agency as its new CEO.
June 2002
- Recognizing the agency’s efforts in provider education, L.A. Care becomes the first health plan without a hospital to be accredited as a Continuing Medical Education (CME) provider by the California Medical Association.
February 2002
- L.A. Care launches a $3.4 million Oral Health Initiative, which includes $200,000 in support from The California Endowment, to provide increased access to direct services, oral health education and promotion, and provider training programs to 22 grantees.
February 2003
- L.A. Care allocates $500,000 in emergency funding for short-term assistance to community clinics affected by the reorganization and fiscal crisis of the Los Angeles County Health Department. This funding provided immediate relief and technical assistance, enabling four school-based clinics to remain open and effectively serve low-income and uninsured residents.
March 2004
- L.A. Care launches its Fitness & Obesity Initiative with an educational conference for providers and community based organizations attended by over 600 people.
July 2003
- The Children’s Health Initiative (CHI) of Greater Los Angeles launches Healthy Kids, an ambitious and privately-funded expansion of health coverage for children ages 0-5, with incomes up to 300% of the Federal Poverty Level and not eligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. L.A. Care Health Plan is a co-convener of the Initiative, along with The California Endowment and the Los Angeles Department of Health Services.
June 2004
- The CHI publicly launched an expansion of the Healthy Kids program to children ages 6-18. At its peak, the CHI provided health insurance to 36,653 children ages 6-18 living in Los Angeles County.
August 2004
- L.A. Care provides an additional $1.2 million in continuation funding to 14 grantees through the Oral Health Initiative to provide direct services and case management in order to ensure that patients who are referred actually see a dentist and receive the needed treatment.
October 2004
- Consumer members of L.A. Care elect Maria Guerrero and Mario Ramos to represent them on L.A. Care’s Board of Governors.
- As part of L.A. Care’s Fitness & Obesity Initiative, L.A. Care sponsors a conference on obesity intervention, with keynote by Assistant U.S. Surgeon General Woodie Kessel, M.D. The conference focuses on teaching health care providers the basics of obesity intervention strategies since most doctors attended medical school at a time when obesity was not regarded as a major health issue.
November 2004
- L.A. Care improves health care quality and access for members by giving providers a telephonic translation device, a handset and adaptor which enables a doctor and patient to speak to each other through a remote translator.
- L.A. Care also launches L.A. Care’s Pocket Rx Initiative, a pilot project to improve patient safety and reduce the amount of time health care providers must use to reference drug formularies. Seventy-five doctors are given PDAs, loaded with ePocrates software, which enables a health care provider to cross-reference dangerous drug interactions and check drug formularies by health plan.
- Funded by L.A. Care’s CHIF, L.A. Care establishes the Robert E. Tranquada, M.D. Award for Safety Net Infrastructure Support to provide nonprofit safety net clinics with funding of up to $500,000 to support infrastructure improvement projects that will help position them for long-term growth.
March 2005
- L.A. Care’s grant of $100,000 helps re-open Bell Gardens Health Center, which closed due to County budget cuts in 2002. The clinic closure left thousands of Bell Gardens residents without access to free and low-cost health care.
April 2005
- L.A. Care is honored by Rancho Los Amigos Foundation with the Amistad Award for Community Service.
September 2005
- L.A. Care is distinguished by Governor Schwarzenegger as the only public health plan on the Governor’s Honor Roll on Health, Nutrition, and Obesity.
November 2005
- L.A. Care participates in a media briefing on a national physician pay-for-performance study at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. L.A. Care is one of six California health plans to participate in the largest pay-for-performance collaborative conducted by Medicaid.
January 2006
- To help community clinics understand and take advantage of available e-health technology, L.A. Care co-sponsors the eClinic Conference with Kaiser and Unihealth Foundation. A $1 million technical assistance grant for e-health was announced at the conference.
February 2006
- L.A. Care helps re-open the Norwalk Regional Health Center, a community clinic that closed due to County budget cuts.
- L.A. Care’s Board of Governors approves a $300,000 grant to fund health care services for the first year of operation at the Sun Valley Health Center, slated to open as early as 2007.
April 2006
- L.A. Care’s Adolescent Health Conference focuses on educating providers on how to create a comfortable medical environment where adolescents can communicate with their providers. The Conference includes a Q&A with a teen panel, and over 300 health care professionals attend.
September 2006
- L.A. Care launches a direct line of business in Medi-Cal as a complement to the Plan Partners.
October 2006
- Governor Schwarzenegger signs AB 225, a bill sponsored by L.A. Care which promotes electronic prescribing by providers in order to reduce the number of medical errors stemming from illegible handwritten prescriptions.
November 2006
- L.A. Care announces the $1.25 million Enhanced Access Initiative, which will fund equipment purchases, programs, and outreach efforts to improve health care access for people with disabilities in Los Angeles County.
January 2007
May 2007
- L.A. Care launches its first comprehensive media campaign called the “Oranges” campaign in television, radio, print and outdoor advertising targeting low-income families. The campaign uses oranges to promote a healthy lifestyle.
October 2007
- L.A. Care’s Board of Governors announces the first round of Tranquada Safety Net Awards to 11 community clinics in Los Angeles County, totaling $4.1 million.
November 2007
- L.A. Care opens its first Family Resource Center at Plaza Mexico in Lynwood, California. The Family Resource Center offers free and low-cost courses related to fitness, nutrition, parenting and chronic disease management.
January 2008
- L.A. Care begins enrolling senior and disabled members in its Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan, its fourth line of business, which combines Medi-Cal and Medicare benefits for those members who are dually-eligible.
February 2008
- L.A. Care, in partnership with Children’s Dental Health Clinic, COACH for Kids, and Pacific Smiles, raises awareness of the importance of oral health by hosting a Dental Health Day at its Family Resource Center in Lynwood. To encourage healthy dental habits, the event provides child attendees with free fluoride varnishes, dental screenings and oral health education.
July 2008
- L.A. Care receives an Accreditation rating of Excellent from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for its Medi-Cal, Healthy Kids and Healthy Families product lines.
- L.A. Care launches a newly-redesigned website, with enhanced features for persons with disabilities and a new search engine.
August 2008
- Through its Health Information Technology Initiative, L.A. Care awards more than $1 million to a combination of nine community clinics to implement disease registries and electronic health records.
January 2009
- L.A. Care becomes the content source of a weekly health segment on Telemundo Channel 52’s midday newscast. Over the next ten months, L.A. Care addresses 26 community-wide health issues, features 20 Spanish-speaking network providers and partners and increases visibility of L.A. Care.
April 2009
- L.A. Care holds a mini Walk-A-Thon at the Family Resource Center in Lynwood to fight childhood obesity and encourage physical activity among 4th and 5th grade students, teachers and parents from the Compton Unified School District. Partners include the Network for a Healthy California, the Children’s Power Play! Campaign, the KID HEALTHY—Steps for a Healthy Living Campaign, the YMCA of Orange County and ABC 7.
May 2009
- L.A. Care, along with the State of California, the Medi-Cal Managed Care Division and 22 other contracted health plans, launch a Health Education Campaign to reduce the number of Medi-Cal Managed Care members who use the Emergency Room (ER) for avoidable visits.
June 2009
- As part of a $567,050 grant made to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, L.A. Care participates in the largest in-person giveaway of nicotine patches and gum ever in California available at participating Ralphs grocery stores.
- Howard Kahn testifies before the U.S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health on the public plan option for health care reform.
- The Regional Community Advisory Committees (RCACs) reach over 300 members.
July 2009
- L.A. Care celebrates the Inglewood Family Resource Center grand opening. The Family Resource Center offers free health education and exercise classes such as parenting workshops, healthy cooking demonstrations, asthma and diabetes disease management, healthy living, weight management, nutrition, dance and Pilates.
- L.A. Care receives the prestigious 2009 Community Leadership Award granted by the America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) for the CHIF’s Seniors and Persons with Disabilities (SPD) Initiative, a $1.5 million investment to provide adjustable exam equipment, health education, and community outreach to more than 60% of Los Angeles County’s safety net clinics.
August 2009
- L.A. Care volunteers and is a major sponsor of the Remote Area Medical (RAM) health expedition, which provided 14,561 free patient services to over 6,000 men, women and children in need, for a total value of care exceeding $2.8 million.
September 2009
- L.A. Care’s Robert E. Tranquada Safety Net Awards grant more than $345,000 to seven community clinics throughout Los Angeles County to help them assess and plan projects that strengthen their long-term infrastructure.
- L.A. Care’s Oral Health Initiative awards more than $679,000 to 10 community clinics and health care organizations to provide dental services for adults, including people with disabilities, who lost their dental benefits due to the State of California cutbacks.
October 2009
- L.A. Care kicks off Women’s Health Month with A Morning of “Me” Time event held at the Lynwood Family Resource Center to raise awareness of the many health issues facing women and provide them with free health screenings and other free services.
- L.A. Care receives the prestigious National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Multicultural Health Care Award for its Health Disparities Improvement Project, which overcomes cultural and language barriers for African-American and Latina women by providing access to health care services that meet their unique needs.
- The Los Angeles County Commission on Disabilities honors L.A. Care for investing $1.5 million through its Seniorsand Persons with Disabilities (SPD) Initiative and for other SPD-related activities that improve access to care for seniors and people with disabilities in Los Angeles County.
November 2009
- L.A. Care launches thePULSE, a quarterly e-newsletter designed to give our providers timely updates on L.A. Care operations, such as new co-pay information, new claims codes, or incentive information.
- L.A. Care launches an e-consult pilot program to increase both collaboration between primary care physicians and specialists regarding a patient’s care and the speed with which a patient’s care is delivered.
- L.A. Care reaches over 100,000 members in its four direct lines of business.
1-888-4LA-Care (1-888-452-2273)