The Grants Will Bring Up to 16 New Physicians into the L.A. County Safety Net
LOS ANGELES – The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates a nationwide shortage of as many as 139,000 physicians by 2033. That research was conducted just before the pandemic, and now a survey conducted in the midst of COVID-19 finds many physicians are considering early retirement or leaving medicine. L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the country, has been working to address the longstanding physician shortage, and today announced 14 awardees in its ninth round of Elevating the Safety Net Provider Recruitment Program grants.
In 2018, L.A. Care launched Elevating the Safety Net (ESN), a five-year, $155 million initiative to recruit highly qualified primary care physicians into the Los Angeles County safety net. Safety net providers offer health care access to a substantial share of the Medi-Cal population and the uninsured.
“It’s understandable that physician burnout intensified during the pandemic, as doctors faced staggering challenges. L.A. Care is determined to do all it can to support these physicians, the places where they work, and ultimately, our members,” said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO. “So far, L.A. Care has offered 183 Provider Recruitment Program grants, resulting in 121 new physicians in L.A. County since its launch.”
Comprehensive Community Health Centers (CCHC) is receiving its fourth recruitment grant.
“The Southern California marketplace is extremely competitive, and provider resources are scarce. The Provider Recruitment Program provides access to resources, which not only allow community clinics to more effectively compete for new providers, but helps us continue our investment in the safety net,” said David Lontok, CCHC CEO. “Our ability to attract new providers to the service area improves access to care which benefits our most important stakeholder – the patient.”
Dr. Angie Cook joined the CCHC thanks to a previous L.A. Care recruitment grant.
“Providing high quality medical care to all, regardless of income, insurance coverage, or socioeconomic status has always been a priority for me,” said Cook. “My desire is multifactorial. One of them being a first-generation immigrant growing up in Southern California and seeing those challenges first-hand. There are so many stressors for families needing access to a safety net facility. Having access to good medical care shouldn't be one of them.“
Each new physician recruited into the safety net can serve as many as 2,000 new patients.
The $2 million in grants announced today brings the total award amount offered from all nine rounds to approximately $23.3 million. The health plan has already awarded $15.8 million in grants for the 121 new physicians hired.
The ninth round awardees are:
All for Health, Health for All, Glendale
AltaMed Health Services, Corp., Los Angeles/Pico Rivera
Asian Pacific Health Care Venture, Los Angeles
Bartz-Altadonna Community Health Center, Lancaster
Comprehensive Community Health Centers, Sunland
Family Health Care Centers of Greater L.A., Bell Gardens
Harbor Community Clinic, San Pedro
JWCH Institute, Palmdale
Southern California Medical Center, El Monte
Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc., Lancaster
The Children’s Clinic, Long Beach
Unicare Community Health Center, Los Angeles
Uptimum Medical Group, Inglewood
Westside Family Health Center, Culver City
While most of the awardees received grant funding to hire one physician, AltaMed Health Services Corp. and Unicare Community Health Center have been awarded enough grant funding to hire two new physicians.
Newly recruited physicians to the safety net are eligible for the Provider Loan Repayment Program, another part of Elevating the Safety Net. Under the program, physicians receive medical school loan repayments of up to $5,000 per month for up to 36 months, as long as they continue to work within the safety net. To date, 99 physicians have been approved for loan repayment grants.
For information about the other programs in Elevating the Safety Net, please visit our Elevating the Safety Net web page.