L.A. Care's Commitment to Health Equity

Vision: In partnership with our members, community partners and providers, we strive towards making Los Angeles County a leader in ensuring that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.

Introducing Our Health Equity and Disparities Mitigation Plan

L.A. Care has been an advocate for health equity before we even called it health equity. Taking care of Los Angeles County’s most vulnerable residents is part of our mission. I am excited to present you with our first ever L.A. Care  “Health Equity and Disparities Mitigation Plan” for 2023-2025.

It is clear that poverty, implicit and systemic biases, and racism adversely impact the health and wellness of those who are poor, people with disabilities, those who experience homelessness, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community.  

Our Health Equity and Disparities Mitigation Plan creates a road map and an action plan for our internal and community stakeholders. The plan focuses on four Health Equity Zones:

  1. Address key health disparities: close racial and ethnic gaps in health outcomes among our members.
  2. Lead change: provide leadership and be an ally for community partners to promote health equity and social justice.
  3. Move towards equitable care: ensure that our members have access to care and services that are free of bias and that our providers are supported in delivering equitable, culturally tailored care.
  4. Embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion: serve as a model in supporting an equitable and inclusive work environment, as reflected in our workforce and business practices.

I urge each of you to become familiar with the Health Equity and Disparities Mitigation Plan and be an agent of change in this movement.  If you have any questions, concerns, or ways to help, please reach out to me as I welcome your input and partnership to further support our vulnerable members.

Alex Li, MD
Health Equity Mitigation Plan PDFL.A. Care Chief Health Equity Officer


Health Equity Mitigation Plan (English)
Health Equity Mitigation Plan Appendix (English)
Health Equity Mitigation Plan (Spanish)
Health Equity Mitigation Plan Appendix (Spanish)

 

Health Equity Work

L.A. Care's Health Equity Action Plan provides us with a road map and seeks to hold ourselves accountable to making a difference:

Infrastructure Building

  • Adopting an official Statement of Principles on Social Justice and Systemic Racism on July 2020.
  • Passing a Board Resolution on gun violence prevention.
  • Creating a Health Equity Department.
  • Creating a Chief Health Equity Officer position to prioritize and oversee the health plan's equity, diversity and inclusion efforts.
  • Implementing an Equity Council Steering Committee with  subcommittees focused on Members, Providers, and Employees.
  • Training all L.A. Care leadership and staff on Diversity and Inclusion, including concepts of implicit bias and cultural humility.

Archive of Previous Initiatives and Programs

L.A. Care hosted a free screening of the documentary ‘Black Men in White Coats' thanks to the American Medical Association. L.A. Care then hosted a virtual live panel conversation on the documentary with community partners from Watts HealthCare Corporation, UC Riverside Medical School, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Black Doctors List and more!