A Force For Change

Louise McCarthy, Chairperson, Board of Governors

Louise McCarthy

Chairperson, Board of Governors

For over 20 years, L.A. Care Health Plan has provided Angelenos access to quality health care. From our humble roots as a small, local insurance plan, we have grown to become the nation's largest publicly operated health insurer with 2.2 million members. One out of every five Angelenos is an L.A. Care member. If you ask me, that's a force to be reckoned with.

Recently, under the strategic vision of Chief Executive Officer John Baackes, the plan has expanded its focus. Our mission has not changed — we still work tirelessly to provide access to quality health care for vulnerable and low-income communities, and to support the health care safety net that delivers that care. We have expanded our focus toward a new way of caring for members. Not only does the organization care about members' physical health, L.A. Care truly cares about the whole person. In addition to delivering quality health care, L.A. Care is now working to ensure members have safe housing, access to healthy foods, reliable transportation, stable income and early education opportunities to help ensure they are living their best lives.

As evidence through the content to follow, you'll find a number of ways that L.A. Care has worked to improve the daily quality of life of our members. We are:

• - Making significant investments to improve food security for members
   
• - Forging new partnerships to identify homeless individuals who will be provided with housing and other resources
   
• - Engaging in local, state and national advocacy efforts to preserve access to health care despite a tumultuous political climate

I am proud to serve on L.A. Care's Board of Governors, and I am proud of the organization L.A. Care has become. This health plan has become a force for positive change in our community. I look forward to celebrating the success of these critical efforts in the future.

Giving A Voice To Our Members

John Baackes, CEO

John Baackes

Chief Executive Officer

Over the past year, L.A. Care Health Plan's role as an advocate has become more important than ever. Advocating on behalf of our members to ensure they have appropriate access to health care is not new for L.A. Care. But, given the current political climate, I have realized how critical it is that L.A. Care become the voice of its members at local, state and national levels on pressing issues that may have a lasting impact on low-income and vulnerable populations.

With the Trump administration's ongoing threats to jeopardize affordable health care coverage, L.A. Care is more determined than ever to work with partners and coalitions to ensure lawmakers hear us. On behalf of our members and providers, L.A. Care will be vigilant and alert to legislation and regulatory proposals impacting Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, which remains the law of the land. We will seek to oppose, modify or support changes to current regulation as necessary, depending on how such changes impact our members, providers or our ability to serve them.

Doing this is just one of the ways we will continue to elevate health care in Los Angeles County. L.A. Care also is committed to expanding its reach in the community by:

• - Adding more Family Resource Centers to the current five – two in the next year, with a goal of 13 total. Having a presence in the communities we serve allows our social workers and case managers to more intimately understand the needs of our members, offering immediate resources and access to care
   
• - Partnering with organizations that focus on the daily needs of our members, like Project Angel Food, whose mission is to feed and nourish the sick as they battle critical illness
   
• - Educating In-Home Supportive Services caregivers of Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries about care management, continuity of care and enhanced communication. Real life skills, including CPR and infection control, are taught in a 10-week series that will help keep these members in the comfort of their homes for as long as possible

As the political climate continues to present challenges, I reaffirm my commitment that L.A. Care will continue to be the voice of our more than two million members and the safety net providers who serve them.

Improving the Daily Lives of Our Members

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  L.A. Care is proud to support housing for the homeless through a $20 million commitment to Brilliant Corners.

  
   

  

  Ma'Lissa Simon was one of the first L.A. Care members to benefit from the Brilliant Corners partnership. Watch her story.

  L.A. Care believes it is our responsibility to address our members' whole health. This means not just being concerned about physical health, but access to healthy food and drinking water. It means having safe parks, good schools and a stable income. These “social determinants of health” influence your risk for disease and how long you live – and L.A. Care is committed to doing something about them.
  
  We have prioritized several major initiatives targeting social determinants of health. The first was a $20 million commitment over five years – the largest ever in L.A. Care's 20-year history – for Brilliant Corners and Los Angeles County's Housing for Health program. This initiative aims to secure permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals like Ma'Lissa Simon, whose story we share in the video.
  
  Our Community Health Investment Fund (CHIF) improves community health, expands health insurance coverage and strengthens the safety net, providing $66 million since 2001. Last year, CHIF increased the reach of L.A. County's Whole Person Care, a five-year pilot program that obtains federal matching dollars for support services to high-risk Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
  
  L.A. Care's Community Wellness Initiative provides $1 million in funding to organizations to help enroll individuals and families in CalFresh or Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) programs. In the past year, grantees enrolled 2,774 families, consisting of over 7,700 individuals, into the CalFresh program. They also helped low-income residents prepare income tax returns and secure refunds totaling over $2.6 million, including over $850,000 in EITC credits.
  
  Lastly, L.A. Care created a partnership with several immigration rights organizations. Key components of this coalition are support of local “Know Your Rights” workshops and an extensive social media campaign, which reaches those who are too afraid to ask for help in person.