L.A. Care History

  Laying the Foundation   

November 1992
The California Department of Health Services releases its draft plan,

Expanding Medi-Cal Managed Care: Reforming the Health Systems; Protecting Vulnerable Populations.

Final draft released in April 1993 establishes a Two-Plan Model in which a locally developed health plan competes against a commercial health plan. The plan also outlines goals and objectives for the Medi-Cal Two-Plan Model, including:

		Expanding choices of physicians and medical providers
		Improving access to primary and preventive health care services
		Ensuring quality of care
		Preserving the health care safety net

  Planning 

May 1994
Final meeting of the MCPC.

First informal meeting of the L.A. Care Health Plan Board of Governors-elect.

  Legislation 

September 1994
Governor Pete Wilson 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.

  Implementation 

November 1994 through September 1995
The Board of Governors lays 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.

September through October 1995
L.A. Care hires Chief Executive Officer Anthony D. Rodgers.

Establishment of management infrastructure.

December 1995
Completion of Plan Partner review and selection.

January 22, 1996
The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) approves California's waiver request for the Medi-Cal Two Plan based on section 1915(b) of the Social Security Act. The waiver allows California to begin implementation through mandatory enrollment of certain Medicaid beneficiaries into managed care, primarily those in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), now California Work Opportunity and Responsibility for Kids (CalWORKS).*

* The federal equivalent to CalWORKS is Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF).

May 1996
L.A. Care submits Knox-Keene application to the California Department of Corporations (DOC) and Detailed Design Application to the California Department of Health Services.

April 1997
L.A. Care Health Plan 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. The conversion process begins in January 1998 with beneficiaries choosing between two health plans. Those beneficiaries who do not choose are automatically enrolled with a health plan and are matched with the appropriate primary care physician.

  Leadership 

July 1998
L.A. Care begins serving Los Angeles County residents in the state's newly launched Healthy Families program, the California equivalent 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 now enrolled in a managed health care plan in Los Angeles County.

September 1999
L.A. Care Health Plan members elect two individuals -- Madi Reeves, a resident of Inglewood, and Carrie Broadus, a resident of Los Angeles -- to represent them on L.A. Care’s Board of Governors. The election represents a rare example of a managed care organization including consumer representatives -- with full voting privileges -- on their governing board.

November 2000
L.A. Care launches a $3 million grant program, the Ambulatory Care Initiative, aimed at helping expand medical services for low-income uninsured communities. Funding is secured through the Community Health Investment Fund established earlier in the year by the Board of Governors.

January 2001
L.A. Care implements the Provider Performance Incentive Program, designed to improve performance in the provision of preventive health care services and data collection for L.A. Care’s providers, provider groups and partnering HMOs. Within two quarters, the $3.5 million incentive program produces results meeting or exceeding benchmarks.

March 2002
L.A. Care awards a $4 million grant to CaliforniaKids Healthcare Foundation to help provide health coverage for 5,000 children in Los Angeles County. Honoring the late U.S. Congressman and civil rights advocate, Julian C. Dixon (D-Culver City), the grant enables community clinics and other Safety Net providers to continue treating the uninsured in the face of serious financial challenges.

May 2002
L.A. Care becomes the first health plan in California without a hospital component to receive Continuing Medical Education (CME) accreditation from the California Medical Association's Institute for Medical Quality. As a result of this accreditation, L.A. Care is able to begin offering its own CME programs to enhance physician knowledge, improve the quality of care, and increase patient satisfaction. The L.A. Care CME programs are tailored to the specific needs of our plan partners and Safety Net providers.

June 2002
First 5 LA (formerly known as Proposition 10 Commission) selects L.A. Care as strategic partner for the implementation of the Healthy Kids Program (ages 0 to 5). Through this program, L.A. Care will have an integral role in assuring that many thousands of needy children in Los Angeles County will have access to quality health care, including medical, dental and vision coverage.

June 2002
L.A. Care offers vital aid to preserve Safety Net programs for vulnerable populations through a variety of grants, programs, and services. As part of commitment to promote quality health care, L.A. Care's Board of Governors allocates $17 million to three strategic initiatives: (1) Medi-Cal Improvements; (2) Safety Net Support; and (3) Increasing Coverage. These initiatives are designed to create a seamless health care system that will minimize barriers to care, support consistent access, and expand services available to families.

October 2002
L.A. Care's Community Health Investment Fund (CHIF III) issues a Request for Proposal to implement a new $3.2 million Oral Health Initiative designed to enable Safety Net providers to continue providing quality oral health care services and to expand the availability of these dental care services throughout Los Angeles County. Proposals received included requests for funding mobile dental clinics, dental screenings and treatment at school sites, and the preservation/expansion of dental services offered at local community clinics.

May 2003
Initial coordinated activities begin among a group of health care professionals and decision makers (including health care providers, private employers, foundations, public health officials and educators) to address the shortfall in health coverage that exists for students between 6 and 18 years of age throughout the County. The goal is to promote and facilitate health coverage for children and youth in Los Angeles.

Working together with our partners, The California Endowment and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, L.A. Care convenes the Children's Health Initiative Coalition to take this effort forward. A number of health care plans and community organizations join the Coalition and dedicate themselves to increasing outreach and enrollment, developing and implementing a strategic policy to support health care for youth and students, and expanding existing programs for children and youth in Los Angeles County.

August 2003
Based on launch of ePocrates software, L.A. Care Medi-Cal formularies for Community Health Plan, Care 1st Health Plan, UHP Health Care and Blue Cross of California, and L.A. Care's Healthy Families, California Kids and Healthy Kids lines of business, can now be easily accessed on a palm OS handheld device. This technological tool enables providers to access quickly and efficiently formulary information and updates, including data on prescription drug guidelines and drug interactions.

February 2004
L.A. Care launches its toll-free, 24-hour-a day "Call for Care" Nurse Advice Line. This service is designed to assist members through direct communication with a registered nurse who can evaluate their symptoms and help members choose the most appropriate source of care. The projected benefits of this service include more informed consumers making decisions about the right level of care -- their physician's office, the emergency room, or self care. The advice line is available to 170,000 individuals, including L.A. Care's Medi-Cal enrollees served by CHP, L.A. Care's Healthy Families, California Kids, and Healthy Kids enrollees, and CHP's Healthy Families and IHSS enrollees, and was announced and promoted to these members via materials in 11 threshold languages. In its first six weeks of operation, the advice line received more than 1000 calls from low-income individuals seeking advice regarding their health care needs.

March 2004
To address the growing epidemic of childhood obesity, L.A. Care launches an initiative to provide tools and training to health care professionals. On March 23, 2004, this effort begins in earnest with a large-scale conference, Battling the Childhood Obesity Epidemic: Strategies for Health Professionals to Prevent and Treat Obesity. Co-sponsors of the conference include Blue Cross of California, Care 1st Health Plan, UHP Healthcare, Community Health Plan, the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Medical Association, the Los Angeles County Medical Association, the California Latino Medical Association, the California Health Care Safety Net Institute, the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. The conference features leading experts in the field, who address practical strategies related to education and advocacy. More than 600 area providers (including 300 physicians) attend the half-day event.