Since 2018, the Health Plan Has Invested Nearly $22 Million Resulting in 165 Active Physicians
LOS ANGELES – L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan, is pleased to announce it has awarded more than $1.4 million to 10 clinics and providers in its latest round of Provider Recruitment Program (PRP) grants. The health plan awarded grants ranging from 62,500 to $250,000 to five federally qualified health centers (FQHC) and five independent private providers to recruit up to 12 new physicians to work in the Los Angeles County safety net. The safety net consists of those clinics and practices that treat many Medi-Cal beneficiaries and the uninsured. The grants are part of Elevating the Safety Net, a $155 million initiative to recruit highly qualified primary care physicians into the Los Angeles County safety net.
“Since launching the initiative in 2018, our grant funding has helped to bring new doctors into clinics that were struggling to compete with specialty practices and academic institutions,” said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO. “In fact, we now have 165 new doctors working in the county safety net who are able to care for the L.A. Care members who depend on safety net providers.”
This is L.A. Care’s 15th round of PRP grants, bringing the total investment in this program since the launch of Elevating the Safety Net to more than $21.9 million.
San Fernando Community Health Center, one of the FQHC’s to receive an award, is thankful that it can now offer a competitive salary to a new physician.
“The award comes at a most opportune time, as SFCHC is currently interviewing for a new family medicine physician to improve access to care for patients at the San Fernando clinic,” said Audrey Simons, SFCHC CEO. “We are also opening a new site in the summer, and the additional physician will provide patient access to high-quality care to residents of a newly opened supportive housing complex and the surrounding community.”
The following clinics and private providers will receive grants ranging from $62,500 to $250,000 as they hire physicians for newly created positions:
Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation – Alhambra, Pasadena, Foothill, Pomona
Priti Desai, MD – Pomona
Bahareh Fazilat, MD – San Fernando Valley
Good Neighbor Clinic – South L.A., Compton, Inglewood
House of Health – Hollywood, Wilshire, Central L.A., Glendale
Leonard S. Kurian, MD – Antelope Valley
Northeast Community Clinics – Hollywood, Wilshire, Central L.A., Glendale, Torrance, Harbor
San Fernando Community Health Center – San Fernando Valley
The ROADS Foundation – South L.A., Compton, Inglewood
Venice Family Clinic – West L.A.
The Provider Recruitment Program is just one part of Elevating the Safety Net. The initiative also provides medical school loan repayments for new physicians who commit to working in the safety net for three years. Provider Loan Repayment Program grants have been awarded to 188 physicians, and 127 of them are still active. The initiative also provides eight medical school scholarships each year to scholars who have expressed an interest in practicing medicine in underserved communities. So far, 48 scholarships have been awarded, with half of the scholars attending the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and half attending the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science.
The Elevating the Safety Net initiative is part of L.A. Care’s commitment to advancing health equity for members and their communities, giving everyone the fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.