Up to $10.6 Million in $50 Gift Cards for Medi-Cal and Cal MediConnect Members
LOS ANGELES – L.A. Care Health Plan has launched a COVID-19 Vaccination Incentive Program to encourage its unvaccinated Medi-Cal and Cal MediConnect (CMC) members to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Eligible Medi-Cal and CMC members who get either their first or second COVID-19 vaccine will get a $50 gift card, one per person while supplies last. This applies to eligible members five* years and older who received their first or second shot on or after Monday, November 1. Earlier this year, UCLA conducted a study showing a cash payment of $50 would make 31 percent of people more likely to get a shot.
Right now, just under 61 percent of L.A. Care’s Medi-Cal and Cal MediConnect members 12+ have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
“Given that roughly 30 percent of Los Angeles County residents are Medi-Cal beneficiaries, that is far from where we need it to be,” said Richard Seidman, MD, MPH, L.A. Care Chief Medical Officer. “Our members are vaccinated at nearly 20 percentage points lower than the community at large here in Los Angeles, a reality seen for Medi-Cal beneficiaries statewide. We need to do everything possible to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates among our members to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths and get past this pandemic. Our hope is that the gift cards might be the tipping point to convince people not yet vaccinated to do so.”
The Vaccination Incentive Program is just latest in a number of steps L.A. Care has taken to increase the number of vaccinated members.
“Our multifaceted effort has included nearly $2 million dollars in grants to community clinics to increase vaccinations in communities of color, which were disproportionately affected by the pandemic,” said Seidman. “It also included our own vaccine clinics, direct outreach to high-risk members, pharmacy outreach partnerships and social media campaigns to educate members about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.”
Supplies of the gift cards are limited, so L.A. Care encourages members to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Eligible members who get vaccinated will receive a postcard with instructions on how to select a gift card in approximately four weeks. It may take up to 12 weeks to receive the selected gift card.
If members do not receive a postcard or flyer from Customer Motivators after four weeks from vaccination, please call Customer Motivator’s Customer Solutions Center at 888-689-3420.
For more information on the L.A. Care COVID-19 Vaccination Incentive Program, go to lacare.org/vaccine.
*Updated February 1, 2022 - Previously the incentive applied to eligible members 12+ years.
*Updated October 13, 2022 - This program has now ended and L.A. Care is no longer offering COVID-19 vaccine incentives for Medi-Cal (MCLA) and Cal MediConnect (CMC) beneficiaries.