All healthcare is local: Blue Shield of California and L.A. Care invest $146 million in community health
Plans will jointly operate 14 community resource centers across Los Angeles that will leverage personalized technology solutions to improve health.
Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan and the L.A. Care Health Plan are investing $146 million in Los Angeles area resource centers to address the social determinants of health for over 1 million people.
The five-year funding commitment will support 14 community resource centers and leverage personalized technology solutions to improve health and identify health disparities.
L.A. Care and the Blue Shield of California each opened their own resource centers more than a decade ago. These health and wellness centers offer a range of exercise, nutrition, parenting, and health management classes at no cost.
Over the next five years, Blue Shield and L.A. Care will jointly open seven new resource centers, remodel four existing centers and relocate three other existing centers to larger locations. Each center will serve approximately 72,000 people per year when services and staff are fully built out, serving more than one million Angelenos annually.
The resource centers will continue to offer health and wellness classes. They will add personalized services such as additional health screenings, telehealth and on-site care management for health plan members. In some locations, a Department of Public Social Services worker and nutritionist will be available.
The centers will also connect members to on-site support from community social service organizations focused on addressing food, income insecurity and other needs.
Child care is offered at no cost for parents to take advantage of the classes.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Insurers are increasing addressing and investing in the social determinants of health to improve outcomes and lower costs.
The combined effort is aimed at supporting local initiatives.
THE LARGER TREND
The health plans have a history of working together. L.A. Care contracts with Blue Shield Promise as a plan partner to serve members of Medi-Cal, the medical assistance program.
The resource center initiative greatly expands their ongoing collaboration.
L.A. Care Health Plan serves nearly 2.2 million members in Los Angeles County. Blue Shield of California is a nonprofit, independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
ON THE RECORD
"As mission-driven health plans, we know health is local," said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO. "By bringing even more services to the community, it will increase our ability to identify health disparities and implement customized solutions."
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com
Focus on Social Determinants of Health
In September, Healthcare Finance News, Healthcare IT News and MobiHealthNews will take a look at the SDOH and how varied health systems, IT companies, Congress and others are addressing it.
