L.A. Care and Health Net Commit $90 Million to Launch Two Innovative Health Care Programs to Support Those Experiencing Homelessness in L.A. County
Date: 08/28/24
The Health Plans Have Launched a New Care Coordination Model for Their 85,000+ Members Who Lack Stable Housing
Sacramento, August 28, 2024 – Today, L.A. Care Health Plan and Health Net announced a $90 million commitment over five years to ensure people who are experiencing homelessness get the preventive and coordinated, whole-person care they need, in addition to access to specialty care and other medically necessary services. L.A. Care developed two complimentary programs — the L.A. County Field Medicine Program (Field Medicine Program) and the Skid Row Care Collaborative — and in collaboration with Health Net, launched both in July. Together, the programs could assist approximately 85,000 Angelenos.
The Field Medicine Program is a $60 million program designed to deliver preventive and urgent health care, chronic disease management, social services, primary care and access to a true medical home to members in their lived environments — on the streets, in tent encampments, in shelters and in interim housing sites. Nineteen providers have been selected to participate in the program to provide a more consistent, coordinated and comprehensive system of care compared to the current model of street medicine, which is generally episodic and oriented around urgent care.
"The Field Medicine Program is grounded in the philosophy that every Medi-Cal beneficiary, regardless of housing status, is entitled to the same level of service and a true medical home," said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO. "The program is designed to develop a countywide network of primary care providers who can provide that medical home and all the services associated with high-quality primary care in a way that will be easier for individuals experiencing homelessness to access."
The program takes an innovative, population-based approach to care coordination and the equitable deployment of resources. It includes 15 distinct regions across L.A. County, each with a designated "regional anchor" provider to ensure access to care across the entire county, and to facilitate coordination with other "floating" providers.
"To address homelessness, support must extend beyond physical housing. It requires whole-person care for these vulnerable individuals," said Martha Santana-Chin, Plan Chief Product President at Health Net. "This investment continues to underscore our belief that every person deserves a safety net for their health, regardless of age, income or current state of health. We are excited to partner with L.A. Care Health Plan on another incredible initiative that will serve Angelenos."
The funding for this program will support additional staffing for the Field Medicine Primary Care teams to be deployed across these regions based on population need. Additionally, members will have access to a medical home for health care and critical social services support in every region across the county that will be available even as individuals transition from unsheltered homelessness to interim housing and, ultimately, to permanent housing.
Ensuring that people experiencing homelessness are able to maintain stable access to primary care services has been a complex challenge — it can be difficult to schedule an appointment or travel to a doctor's office, especially if they fear leaving their belongings behind. As a result, people who are unhoused are more likely to suffer from unmanaged chronic diseases, including behavioral health disorders, than peers who are housed. Moreover, the L.A. County Department of Public Health recently released a report showing the mortality rate among people experiencing homelessness was about four times greater than all other L.A. County residents. The Field Medicine Program is designed specifically to address these drivers of high mortality among people experiencing homelessness.
The second program, the Skid Row Care Collaborative, is a core component of the Field Medicine Program. It is designed to accommodate the unique needs of Skid Row as a neighborhood with a high density of both people experiencing homelessness, as well as support for the established providers to care for them. The Skid Row Care Collaborative includes $30 million of funding for enhanced services and additional facilities on Skid Row, including $10 million in funding to launch the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Crocker Street Campus. The Skid Row Care Collaborative will include walk-in harm reduction services, observation beds, extended hours for urgent care and pharmacy, community ambassadors, and onsite specialty medical services.
It will also include a free shuttle to connect members to these services within the neighborhood. To receive this funding, providers serving Skid Row will collaborate to ensure a "no wrong door" approach to coordinated access to care for Skid Row residents.
The funding for this investment is the result of California's Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (PDF) (HHIP), which the state launched with the help of matching funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. HHIP rewards Medi-Cal managed care plans for making progress in addressing homelessness and housing insecurity as social drivers of health. L.A. Care will commit 70 percent of the total funding for these programs, with Health Net committing 30 percent.
L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation's largest publicly operated health plan, and Health Net, one of California's most experienced Medi-Cal managed care health plans and company of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), have collaborated on a separate HHIP program, which committed $114 million to secure as many as 1,900 rental units and to offer the unhoused assistance with Activities of Daily Living.
The two new programs align with the health plans' shared commitment to advancing health equity, which means ensuring that everyone, regardless of housing status or social barriers, has a fair and equal opportunity to be as healthy as possible.