The Health Plan is Collaborating with Inside Safe, Pathway Home and Other Programs to Connect Members to Much-Needed Services More Quickly
LOS ANGELES – Both the City and County of Los Angeles have been working to move people experiencing homelessness from encampments into temporary housing – either hotel rooms or other shelters. These efforts, alongside efforts from L.A. Care Health Plan and other organizations, have resulted in the first reduction in people living on L.A. streets since 2018. In a marked expansion in L.A. Care’s programs to support members experiencing homelessness, the health plan is announcing today a new program to meet members where they are. The program sends L.A. Care social service teams to temporary housing locations to enroll L.A. Care members in housing navigation and enhanced care management services. It’s the only health plan doing this sort of outreach.
“Once our unhoused members are in a safe and stable environment, L.A. Care social workers can meet them where they are. We want to do everything we can to get our members experiencing homelessness into permanent housing, and this new project will help speed up the process,” said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO. “Many of these members will need a variety of social service supports, and meeting them at the temporary housing sites is a great way to identify all of their needs.”
At the time of the project’s launch in March 2024, more than 600 L.A. Care members were participating in the city of L.A.’s Inside Safe program, but only eight percent of those people were connected to L.A. Care’s housing navigation services, and only 11 percent were connected to enhanced care management services—services covered under Medi-Cal through the CalAIM program. L.A. Care is working with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the County and the City to make sure that all Inside Safe participants have access to these Medi-Cal benefits and services.
“Expanding access to healthcare is a matter of life and death. We will not be able to address the homelessness crisis without health services and I’m excited to take this step as we continue to expand our continuum of care,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “Thousands more people came inside during 2023 than the previous year – services help them stay inside and stay alive. I want to thank our partners on this important effort and look forward to the work ahead as we expand the capacity of our care.”
In addition to the partnership with the City’s Inside Safe program, L.A. Care is also partnering with L.A. County’s Pathway Home program and other similar programs county-wide to bring social service teams onsite at interim housing locations. Since launch, L.A. Care social worker teams have visited 16 interim housing sites where they have been able to ensure members are connected to critical services. L.A. Care plans to continue expanding the program adding more temporary housing sites and strengthening program infrastructure to support that expansion.