Mission
L.A. Care’s mission is to provide access to quality health care for Los Angeles County's vulnerable and low-income communities and residents and to support the safety net required to achieve that purpose.
Overview
Committed to the promotion of accessible, affordable and high quality health care, L.A. Care Health Plan (Local Initiative Health Authority of Los Angeles County) is an independent local public agency created by the State of California to provide health coverage to low-income Los Angeles County residents. Serving more than 2.6 million members in four product lines, L.A. Care is the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan.
L.A. Care Health Plan is governed by a 13-member Board of Governors representing specific stakeholder groups, including consumer members, physicians, federally qualified health centers, children’s health care providers, local hospitals and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
Health Coverage
- Medi-Cal – In addition to offering a direct Medi-Cal line of business, L.A. Care works with two subcontracted health plans to provide coverage to Medi-Cal members. These partners are Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan. Medi-Cal beneficiaries represent a vast majority of L.A. Care members.
- L.A. Care Covered™ – As a state selected Qualified Health Plan, L.A. Care provides the opportunity for all members of a family to receive health coverage under one health plan in the Covered California state exchange.
- L.A. Care Medicare Plus (HMO D-SNP) – L.A. Care Medicare Plus provides complete care that coordinates Medicare and Medi-Cal benefits for Los Angeles County seniors and people with disabilities, helps with access to resources like housing and food, and offers benefits and services like care managers and 24/7 customer service at no cost.
- PASC-SEIU Homecare Workers Health Care Plan – L.A. Care provides health coverage to Los Angeles County’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) workers, who enable our most vulnerable community members to remain safely in their homes by providing services such as meal preparation and personal care services.
Health Equity and Community Impact
It takes more than health care coverage to build healthy communities. L.A. Care recognizes that non-medical factors can significantly impact health outcomes. It is estimated that 50-80 percent of health outcomes are based on social, economic and environmental factors. To ensure healthy communities, it’s critical to address basic needs like food, housing, education, transportation and employment – often referred to as social needs, or social drivers of health.
Poverty, implicit and systemic biases, and racism adversely impact the health of those who are low-income, people with disabilities, those who experience homelessness, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community.
L.A. Care is committed to advancing health equity, which means everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. L.A. Care is also committed to being a champion and a voice for its members and their communities.
L.A. Care supports its members health and social needs through a variety of targeted activities:
