The Health Plans Have Launched a New Care
Coordination Model for Their 85,000+ Members Who Lack Stable
Housing
LOS
ANGELES, Aug. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, L.A.
Care Health Plan and Health Net announced a $90 million commitment over five years to ensure
people who are experiencing homelessness get the preventive and
coordinated, whole-person care they need, in addition to access to
specialty care and other medically necessary services. L.A. Care
developed two complimentary programs — the L.A. County Field
Medicine Program (Field Medicine Program) and the Skid Row Care
Collaborative — and in collaboration with Health Net, launched both
in July. Together, the programs could assist approximately 85,000
Angelenos.
The Field Medicine Program is a $60
million program designed to deliver preventive and urgent
health care, chronic disease management, social services, primary
care and access to a true medical home to members in their lived
environments — on the streets, in tent encampments, in shelters and
in interim housing sites. Nineteen providers have been selected to
participate in the program to provide a more consistent,
coordinated and comprehensive system of care compared to the
current model of street medicine, which is generally episodic and
oriented around urgent care.
"The Field Medicine Program is grounded in the philosophy that
every Medi-Cal beneficiary, regardless of housing status, is
entitled to the same level of service and a true medical home,"
said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO.
"The program is designed to develop a countywide network of primary
care providers who can provide that medical home and all the
services associated with high-quality primary care in a way that
will be easier for individuals experiencing homelessness to
access."
The program takes an innovative, population-based approach to
care coordination and the equitable deployment of resources. It
includes 15 distinct regions across L.A. County, each with a
designated "regional anchor" provider to ensure access to care
across the entire county, and to facilitate coordination with other
"floating" providers.
"To address homelessness, support must extend beyond physical
housing. It requires whole-person care for these vulnerable
individuals," said Martha
Santana-Chin, Plan Chief Product President at Health Net.
"This investment continues to underscore our belief that every
person deserves a safety net for their health, regardless of age,
income or current state of health. We are excited to partner with
L.A. Care Health Plan on another incredible initiative that will
serve Angelenos."
The funding for this program will support additional staffing
for the Field Medicine Primary Care teams to be deployed across
these regions based on population need. Additionally, members will
have access to a medical home for health care and critical social
services support in every region across the county that will be
available even as individuals transition from unsheltered
homelessness to interim housing and, ultimately, to permanent
housing.
Ensuring that people experiencing homelessness are able to
maintain stable access to primary care services has been a complex
challenge — it can be difficult to schedule an appointment or
travel to a doctor's office, especially if they fear leaving their
belongings behind. As a result, people who are unhoused are more
likely to suffer from unmanaged chronic diseases, including
behavioral health disorders, than peers who are housed. Moreover,
the L.A. County Department of Public Health recently released a
report showing the mortality rate among people experiencing
homelessness was about four times greater than all other L.A.
County residents. The Field Medicine Program is designed
specifically to address these drivers of high mortality among
people experiencing homelessness.
The second program, the Skid Row Care Collaborative, is a core
component of the Field Medicine Program. It is designed to
accommodate the unique needs of Skid Row as a neighborhood with a
high density of both people experiencing homelessness, as well as
support for the established providers to care for them. The Skid
Row Care Collaborative includes $30
million of funding for enhanced services and additional
facilities on Skid Row, including $10
million in funding to launch the Los Angeles County
Department of Health Services Crocker Street Campus. The Skid Row
Care Collaborative will include walk-in, harm reduction services,
observation beds, extended hours for urgent care and pharmacy,
community ambassadors, and onsite specialty medical services.
It will also include a free shuttle to connect members to these
services within the neighborhood. To receive this funding,
providers serving Skid Row will collaborate to ensure a "no wrong
door" approach to coordinated access to care for Skid Row
residents.
The funding for this investment is the result of California's Housing and Homelessness
Incentive Program (HHIP), which the state launched with the help of
matching funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. HHIP rewards
Medi-Cal managed care plans for making progress in addressing
homelessness and housing insecurity as social drivers of health.
L.A. Care will commit 70 percent of the total funding for these
programs, with Health Net committing 30 percent.
L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation's largest publicly operated
health plan, and Health Net, one of California's most experienced Medi-Cal managed
care health plans and company of Centene Corporation (NYSE:
CNC), have collaborated on a separate HHIP program, which
committed $114 million to secure as many as 1,900 rental units
and to offer the unhoused assistance with Activities of Daily
Living.
The two new programs align with the health plans' shared
commitment to advancing health equity, which means ensuring that
everyone, regardless of housing status or social barriers, has a
fair and equal opportunity to be as healthy as possible.
About L.A. Care Health Plan
L.A. Care Health Plan is
the largest health plan in Los Angeles
County serving more than one of every four Angelenos. It is
also the largest publicly operated plan in the country. L.A.
Care offers four health coverage plans
including Medi-Cal, L.A. Care Covered™, L.A. Care
Medicare Plus and the PASC-SEIU Homecare Workers Health
Care Plan, all dedicated to being accountable and responsive to
members. As a public entity, L.A. Care's mission is to provide
access to quality health care for L.A. County's low-income
communities, and to support the safety net required to achieve that
purpose. L.A. Care prioritizes quality, access and inclusion,
elevating health care for all of L.A. County. For more information,
follow us
on X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
About Health Net
Founded in California more than 45 years ago, Health Net,
a company of Centene Corporation, believes that every person
deserves a safety net for their health, regardless of age, income,
employment status or current state of health. Today, we provide
health plans for individuals, families, businesses of every size
and people who qualify for Medi-Cal or Medicare. With more than
90,000 of our network providers, Health Net serves more than three
million members across the state. We also offer access to substance
abuse programs, behavioral health services, employee assistance
programs and managed healthcare products related to prescription
drugs. We make these health plans and services available through
Health Net, LLC and its subsidiaries: Health Net of California, Inc., Health Net Life Insurance
Company and Health Net Community Solutions, Inc. These entities are
wholly owned subsidiaries of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), a
leading healthcare enterprise committed to transforming the health
of the communities we serve, one person at a time. Health Net and
Centene employ more than 5,700 people in California who work at one of five regional
Talent Hub offices. For more information, visit
www.HealthNet.com.
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SOURCE L.A. Care Health Plan; Health Net