L.A. Care is a health plan for people who have Medi-Cal in Los Angeles County. L.A. Care works with the State of California to help you get the health care you need.
Talk with one of the L.A. Care Member Services representatives to learn more about the health plan and how to make it work for you. Call Member Services at 1-888-839-9909 (TTY 711).
When Your Coverage Starts and Ends
When you enroll in L.A. Care, we will send you an ID card within two weeks of your enrollment date.
- You must show both your L.A. Care ID card and your Medi-Cal Benefits Identification Card (BIC) when you get health care services or prescriptions.
- Your Medi-Cal coverage will need to be renewed every year.
- If your local county office cannot renew your Medi-Cal coverage electronically, the county will send you a pre-populated Medi-Cal renewal form.
- Complete this form and return it to your local county human services agency. You can return your information by mail, in person, by phone, online, or other electronic means if available in your county.
- Your effective date of coverage is the 1st day of the month following completion of enrollment in a health plan.
- Check your letter from Health Care Options for your coverage effective date.
- You can end your L.A. Care coverage and choose another health plan at any time.
For help choosing a new plan, call Health Care Options at 1-800-430-4263 (TTY 1-800-430-7077 or 711). Or go to the Health Care Options website. You can also ask to end your Medi-Cal.
L.A. Care is the health plan for Medi-Cal members in Los Angeles County. The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) works with L.A. Care to provide your Medi-Cal health care. Find your local DHCS office on the DHCS website.
L.A. Care eligibility may end if any of the following is true:
- You move out of Los Angeles County
- You no longer have Medi-Cal
- You become eligible for a waiver program that requires you to be enrolled in Fee-for-Service (FFS) Medi-Cal.
- You are in jail or prison
If you lose your L.A. Care Medi-Cal coverage, you may still qualify for FFS Medi-Cal coverage. If you are not sure if you are still covered by L.A. Care, call Member Services at 1-888-839-9909 (TTY 711)
Special considerations for American Indians in managed care
American Indians have a right to not enroll in a Medi-Cal managed care plan. Or they may leave their Medi-Cal managed care plan and return to FFS Medi-Cal at any time and for any reason.
If you are an American Indian, you have the right to get health care services at an Indian Health Care Provider (IHCP). You can also stay with or disenroll (drop) from L.A. Care while getting health care services from these locations. To learn more about enrollment and disenrollment, call Member Services at 1-888-839-9909 (TTY 711).
L.A. Care must provide care coordination for you, including out-of-network case management. If you ask to get services from an IHCP and there is no available in-network IHCP, L.A. Care must help you find an out-of network IHCP. To learn more, visit the Provider Network portion of this online handbook.