Below is a look back at key moments in our history, along with awards and honors that recognize L.A. Care's unwavering commitment to our mission, vision, and values. We look forward to achieving even more for our communities as we elevate health care for all of Los Angeles County.
November 2016
CEO John Baackes begins serving on the governing board of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a national trade association dedicated to advancing a patient-focused health care system.
October 2016
Community event sponsored by L.A. Care draws hundreds to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Medi-Cal and L.A. Care's role in bringing better health to the vulnerable populations of L.A. County.
September 2016
The National Human Resources Executive Association named L.A. Care Chief Human Resources Officer, Robert Turner PhD, "The Executive of the Year".
August 2016
Elections held for consumer and community member posts on L.A. Care's Board of Governors.
July 2016
The L.A. Care Connect member portal celebrates one year of providing member access to mobile-friendly, personalized resources, including wellness programs, changing doctors, or seeing their prescription history.
June 2016
National trade association Medicaid Health Plans of America (MHPA) welcomes L.A. Care CEO John Baackes to its Board of Directors.
June 2016
Los Angeles Practice Transformation Network (LAPTN), an innovative project of L.A. Care, helps L.A. County clinicians improve care for diabetes and depression through a $15.8 million grant award over four years.
May 2016
Los Angeles Business Journal ranks L.A. Care as the top-ranked health insurer in L.A. County by enrollment. CEO John Baackes is also named Los Angeles Business Journal "Insurance CEO of the Year."
May 2016
L.A. Care awards Brilliant Corners $200,000 in move-in assistance funds to help transition for 100 homeless individuals, including L.A. Care members, into stable housing.
May 2016
L.A. Care Nurse Academy begins in partnership with Mount St. Mary's University to provide nursing students with onsite care management training and to encourage them to consider a health plan career.
May 2016
L.A. Care Health Plan is the top ranked health insurer with more than 2 million members, which represents a 16% increase in members over a year ago. Based on current membership figures, this makes L.A. Care not only the nation's largest publicly operated health plan, but also L.A. County's largest health insurer.
April 2016
The L.A. Care Community Access Network (L.A. Care CAN) launches in the Antelope Valley. Read more
More than 70 primary care physicians and specialists are directly contracted to improve access to care for Medi-Cal members.
March 2016
L.A. Care Health Plan enrollment reaches two million members in Los Angeles County.
February 2016
L.A. Care extends outreach program in the San Gabriel Valley through the Chinese Lunar New Year Festival in Monterey Park.
January 2016
Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County awards 8-month extension to L.A. Care's HITEC-LA for continuing work with improving patient care quality through technology in partnership with the L.A. Regional Health Center Controlled Network.
January 2016
L.A. County Board of Supervisors Hilda Solis joins the L.A. Care Board of Governors.
December 2015
Total membership across all L.A. Care product lines surpasses 1.9 million in Los Angeles County.
December 2015
Inside Healthcare features L.A. Care and CEO John Baackes.
November 2015
Total membership across all L.A. Care product lines surpasses 1.8 million in Los Angeles County.
November 2015
L.A. Care honored by L.A. County and White Memorial Hospital's Charitable Foundation for providing $100,000 grant funds to help continue care for those displaced by the closing of Martin Luther King Hospital.
November 2015
DHCS awards $10 million contract to L.A. Care to provide Electronic Health Record (EHR) technical support to L.A. County Medi-Cal providers.
October 2015
L.A. Care is the presenting sponsor for the fourth consecutive year of the 4-day Care Harbor/LA free clinic that provides no-cost medical, dental and vision care for Los Angeles' uninsured, underinsured and underserved populations.
October 2015
L.A. Care's Family Resource Center in Pacoima hosts first "Beautiful Minds of the San Fernando Valley" event to heighten awareness about behavioral health.
October 2015
New Member Reception Center opens to provide additional customer service to members at L.A. Care's Downtown Los Angeles headquarters.
September 2015
L.A. Care receives Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative Award of $15.8 million over four years.
September 2015
CEO John Baackes announces L.A. Care's new organizational priorities for 2016-2018.
August 2015
New advertising campaign begins for L.A. Care's Family Resource Centers in Los Angeles County.
August 2015
L.A. Care's Board of Governors elects new officers: Mark Gamble, chair; Louise McCarthy, vice chair; Michael Rembus, treasurer; Alex Li, M.D., secretary.
August 2015
Northeast Valley Health Corporation opens new Adult Wellness Center in San Fernando with aid of L.A. Care $300,000 grant from L.A. Care's Community Health Investment Fund (CHIF).
July 2015
L.A. Care launches new online member portal for direct Medi-Cal and L.A. Care Covered members and achieves NCQA communications standards for providing hands-on access to information and health care services.
June 2015
L.A. Care's Behavioral Health department hosts first LGBTQ conference for L.A. County physicians to increase their understanding and customer service for their lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual or questioning patients.
May 2015
L.A. Care earns NCQA Distinction in Multicultural Health Care.
May 2015
Total membership across all L.A. Care product lines surpasses 1.7 million in Los Angeles County.
April 2015
Extension award allows HITEC LA to continue EHR support for L.A. County's health care providers.
April 2015
L.A. Care becomes first ACA health plan to offer a cash payment option.
March 2015
New CEO John Baackes relocates from Philadelphia to helm the nation's largest public health agency.
March 2015
Enrollment in L.A. Care's Cal MediConnect, the duals demonstration pilot, reaches nearly 16,000.
February 2015
Howard Kahn bids farewell after 13 years as Chief Executive Officer. His successor, John Baackes, is to begin his tenure in late March.
January 2015
Passive enrollment begins for L.A. Care's Cal MediConnect program for elderly and vulnerable members.
January 2015
L.A. Care's total membership across all product lines surpasses 1.6 million in Los Angeles County.
January 2015
L.A. Care teams up with the American Cancer Society to bring L.A. Care's members vital cervical cancer prevention and early detection messages to help prevent cancer or detect it early when it's most treatable.
November 2014
County Supervisor Michael Antonovich joins L.A. Care's Board of Governors. Antonovich replaces the Honorable Gloria Molina who served on the board for four years.
November 2014
The fourth L.A. Care Family Resource Center opens in Pacoima offering free and culturally-focused health education resources and programs designed to promote overall wellness and healthy living.
October 2014
Annual Medicare Star Ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show that L.A. Care has improved its Medicare Part D Star Rating and can begin accepting passive enrollment into the Cal MediConnect program starting January 2015. To fully participate in the program, L.A. Care will close its Medicare D-SNP product line on December 31, 2014.
October 2014
L.A. Care's 13-member Board of Governors welcomes new member Hector De La Torre, who represents stakeholders with health plan/health insurance expertise. De La Torre is the first Board member to be nominated by the Board for consideration by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
September 2014
The L.A. Care-funded and managed telehealth program eConsult surpasses 150,000 electronic consultations between primary care providers and specialists, resulting in faster, more convenient and cost-effective treatments for low-income and vulnerable residents throughout L.A. County.
September 2014
A $200,000 grant is awarded by L.A. Care to the Corporation for Supportive Housing to provide intensive case management services to the plan's estimated 20,000 homeless members in an effort to reduce re-hospitalization.
August 2014
With L.A. Care as the presenting sponsor, the massive 4-day Care Harbor/LA free clinic event provides no-cost medical, dental and vision care for Los Angeles' uninsured, underinsured and underserved population.
August 2014
Cedars-Sinai Hospital signs agreement to provide medical and provider services to L.A. Care's dual eligible Cal MediConnect members.
July 2014
Healthcare Partners signs an agreement with L.A. Care to provide medical and physician services for its dual eligible Cal MediConnect members in Los Angeles County and to also work with L.A. Care to provide long term services and support resources and behavioral health needs.
July 2014
The Healthcare Marketing Report and Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Association present Golden Advocate advertising excellence awards for L.A. Care's multicultural marketing campaign promoting the new L.A. Care Covered™ product line.
July 2014
L.A. Care awards 14 oral health initiative grants to support and expand safety net dental services for low-income residents.
July 2014
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) bestows Three-Year Accreditation on L.A. Care in recognition of its exemplary care.
June 2014
L.A. Care partners with DPS Health to offer an evidence-based weight loss and member engagement program to help overweight and obese members improve their health.
June 2014
Physician payments from L.A. Care increase to Medicare reimbursement levels for eligible primary care providers in its Medi-Cal network for 2013 and 2014 that is expected to total more than $400 million over two years.
June 2014
L.A. Care receives grant from the Blue Shield of California Foundation as the lead agency in a collaborative designed to improve system-level integration of primary care, substance abuse and behavioral health care services for Medi-Cal recipients and otherwise unserved or underserved residents of Los Angeles County.
May 2014
Blue Shield of California awards $200,000 grant to L.A. Care for further development of eConsult to improve patient access to specialty care.
April 2014
L.A. Care launches L.A. Care Cal MediConnect (CMC), a product line for dual Medicare and Medi-Cal.
The plan's goal is to improve continuity of member care and health outcomes, and maximize their ability to remain in their homes and in their community. Currently, the health plan serves nearly 14,000 CMC members.
April 2014
The L.A. Care funded and managed telehealth program eConsult surpasses 100,000 electronic consultations between primary care providers and specialists, resulting in a faster, more convenient and cost-effective treatment.
March 2014
L.A. Care successfully passes the federal readiness review for Cal MediConnect participation and prepares to accept dual eligible members who choose L.A. Care beginning July 1, 2014, with passive enrollment to begin January 1, 2015.
March 2014
L.A. Care opens its third Family Resource Center at The Wellness Center at the Historic General Hospital in Boyle Heights and begins offering free health education and exercise classes as well as health care reform information in April.
February 2014
CEO Howard Kahn announces his planned departure in early 2015 after 13 years at the helm of America's largest publicly operated health plan.
February 2014
First L.A. Care Medi-Cal "Blue Button" members receive access to their personal prescription information online.
January 2014
L.A. Care welcomes 180,000 new Affordable Care Act members through the expansion of Medi-Cal eligibility and launch of L.A. Care Covered™ under the state's Covered California Marketplace.
January 2014
L.A. Care signs a 3-way contract with the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in Cal MediConnect, a pilot program for dual Medicare and Medi-Cal eligible beneficiaries to improve continuity of their care and health outcomes, and maximize their ability to remain in their homes and in their community.
December 2013
L.A. Care launches Spanish language website www.lacarecovered.org/es to assist Angelenos with L.A. Care Covered™ information and enrollment.
November 2013
L.A. Care funded and managed telehealth program eConsult surpasses 50,000 electronic consultations between primary care providers and specialists, enabling patients to receive the right treatment at the best place in the shortest time.
November 2013
U.C. Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement awards $400,000 to L.A. Care to develop Blue Button functionality to give patients access to their own prescription data online.
October 2013
Launches L.A. Care Covered™, the plan's first commercial health plan. Read more
The new product line is part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Currently, the health plan serves more than 24,000 L.A. Care Covered members.
September 2013
"Obamacare 101" workshops begin in L.A. County to educate staff at community clinics and community-based organizations about Affordable Care Act transitions, including the state's marketplace, Covered California and the expansion of Medi-Cal, so that they may further educate others about new health care coverage opportunities.
July 2013
L.A. Care announces payouts of $3.7 million in health IT incentives to over 1,400 eligible L.A. County safety net primary care providers to help them reach meaningful use with certified electronic health records and improve patient care.
May 2013
L.A. Care is selected for participation in the new insurance marketplace Covered California Heath Benefit Exchange offering L.A. Care's first commercial health insurance product to uninsured or underinsured consumers. The plan is named L.A. Care Covered™.
May 2013
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) awards L.A. Care the Multicultural Health Care Distinction (MHC) designation for its sensitivity to delivering health care that pays attention to members' culture, ethnicity or language.
April 2013
Medical Nutrition Therapy is offered as an intervention to L.A. Care direct line of business members with chronic conditions over the telephone with a registered dietitian (RD) who can counsel in English and Spanish. Referred members receive a one-hour consultation and typically three follow-up consultations.
March 2013
On March 1, approximately 15,000 L.A. Care active Healthy Families (LAHF) members successfully transitioned to Medi-Cal (MCLA) as part of the State Legislature's budget-savings closure of the Healthy Families program.
March 2013
L.A. Care's HITEC-LA reaches 50% of its goal of assisting 3,000 eligible primary care physicians in Los Angeles County to reach meaningful use with certified electronic health records (EHR) systems.
February 2013
L.A. Care's eConsult program shows a 56% decrease in required face-to-face visits with a specialist; 36% of patients were taken care of by primary care doctors with specialists' support; and 8% were helped through redirected Web-based consults.
January 2013
Alexandria House, a residence providing housing for women and children in transition, thanks L.A. Care employees for their generosity during the holidays through the L.A. Care Giving Back program.
December 2012
L.A. Care announces new members on the stakeholder Board of Governors (BoG). New Board members include Alex Li, M.D., CEO of Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Ambulatory Care Network, will represent the County; Sheryl Spiller, head of the Department of Public Social Services will also represent the County; Jann Hamilton Lee, MHA, President and Chief Executive Officer for South Bay Family Health Care will represent the Federally Qualified Health Centers; Hilda Perez, health promoter and member and former chair of the Regional Community Advisory Committee and the Executive Community Advisory Committee will represent consumers and Ozzie Lopez, Executive Director of Los Angeles Youth Opportunity Movement Boyle Heights will represent consumers too on the BoG.
December 2012
L.A. Care's eConsult program receives a $200,000 grant from the Blue Shield of California Foundation to support eConsult operations and activities in 2013.
October 2012
Gertrude "Trudi" Carter, M.D., accepts the position of Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at L.A. Care. Dr. Carter joins L.A. Care from her previous position of CMO at CalOptima.
September 2012
As the presenting sponsor, L.A. Care supports the massive free health clinic, Care Harbor. Read more
Then on its fourth event, Care Harbor (formerly CareNow) expands its mission to offer follow-up care to the uninsured population of Los Angeles County and provided extensive preventive care education and resources for all who attended.
August 2012
L.A. Care announces that its eConsult platform, an electronic primary care-to-specialist consultation and referral system, has successfully launched and completed its first patient consults for dermatology and neurology specialties.
July 2012
L.A. Cares About Asthma® program receives 2012 National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
June 2012
In partnership with the California Long-Term Care Education Center, L.A. Care Health Plan, SEIU United Long Term Care Workers (ULTCW), Shirley Ware Education Center (SEIU-UHW), Health Plan of San Mateo, Contra Costa County Department of Aging and Health Services, and the UCSF Center for Health Professions, are selected by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to receive a Health Care Innovation Award. The project will train In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), personal and home care attendants (PHCAs) to assume key roles in the patient's health, including health monitor, coach and communicator, navigator, and care aide.
May 2012
L.A. Care is selected to receive the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2012 National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management for its exemplary efforts to deliver high-quality asthma care that includes environmental controls.
April 2012
L.A. County Board of Supervisors honors L.A. Care Health Plan for 15 years of providing health coverage to low-income and vulnerable populations in Los Angeles County.
April 2012
The State of California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announces that Los Angeles County was chosen as one of four sites for an integrated care initiative for individuals who are eligible for both Medicare and Medi-Cal. L.A. Care is selected as one of two health plans in the county who will participate in the new pilot program.
February 2012
Launches Homecare Workers Health Care Plan (PASC- SEIU Plan). Currently serves more than 48,000 members.
January 2012
Reaches one million members enrolled across all product lines.
September 2011
L.A. Care's Oral Health Initiative awards $635,000 to 16 L.A. County safety net clinics to provide diagnostic, preventive and treatment services, state-of-the-art dental equipment, a mobile dental clinic and software systems.
August 2011
L.A. Care announces an investment of $1.5 million to implement an innovative eConsult system, an electronic physician-to-specialist consultation and referral system, at approximately 47 L.A. County safety net sites, including Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) health care facilities. Louise McCarthy, president and CEO of the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC), joins the Board of Governors, serving until late 2014.
June 2011
L.A. Care starts enrolling seniors and people with disabilities (SPDs) into Medi-Cal as a result of the 1115 Waiver.
May 2011
The Partners in Care Foundation awarded L.A. Care CEO its Mathies award for his significant contributions to providing quality access to health care for low-income families and helping transform the health care system in Los Angeles County.
May 2011
CEO Howard Kahn is honored by the Partners in Care Foundation for his significant contributions to providing access to quality health care for low-income families and helping transform the health care system in Los Angeles County.
March 2011
L.A. Care announces Walter Zelman, Ph.D professor, and chair of the Department of Health Science at California State University, Los Angeles, the new chair of L.A. Care's Board of Governors for a one-year term. L.A. Care allocates $2 million through its Health I.T. Incentive Program to assist community clinics and physicians in high-membership solo and small group practices implement Electronic Health Records (EHRs) certified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).
February 2011
County Supervisor Gloria Molina joins L.A. Care's Board of Governors. Molina replaces the Honorable Don Knabe who served on the board for 10 years. L.A. Care's Board of Governors approves $210,000 in funding to support the South Bay Children's Health Center's (SBCHC) dental program in its new dental clinic in Lawndale. This start-up dental clinic will add four new dental operating rooms and provide 30 hours per week of pediatric dental services.