UCLA Health and Medi-Cal: Expanding Access to Quality Healthcare for Californians
The University of California's (UC) academic health centers are dedicated to improving the health of all Californians, especially the most vulnerable. UCLA Health plays a significant role in this mission by providing care to Medi-Cal enrollees through its hospitals and clinics. Despite representing less than 6 percent of the non-federal, short-term, acute care hospital beds in the state, UC’s academic health centers are the second-largest provider of Medi-Cal hospital services by most measures. Across UC academic health centers, 35 percent of patients are Medi-Cal enrollees, ahead of all commercial health insurers.
UCLA Health's Commitment to Medi-Cal Patients
UCLA Health includes four hospitals on two campuses: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, and Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA, as well as over 170 primary and specialty care practices throughout Southern California. UCLA is committed to ensuring access to the expertise of its specialists for Medi-Cal patients. Cancer care is a priority, and in the past year, UC cared for nearly 10,000 active cancer patients covered by Medi-Cal through its five comprehensive cancer centers. Nearly half of all Medi-Cal solid organ transplants occur at a UC location.
Johnese Spisso, President of UCLA Health & CEO of the UCLA Hospital System, stated, "We take great pride in providing outstanding, patient-centered care to patients and families."
Partnership with L.A. Care Health Plan
UCLA Health has partnered with L.A. Care Health Plan to expand access to high-quality healthcare for Medi-Cal members in Los Angeles County. L.A. Care Health Plan serves more than 2.2 million members in Los Angeles County, making it the largest publicly-operated health plan in the country. L.A. Care offers four health coverage plans including Medi-Cal, L.A. Care Cal MediConnect Plan and the PASC-SEIU Homecare Workers Health Care Plan, all dedicated to being accountable and responsive to members.
This partnership marks the first Medi-Cal contract between L.A. Care and UCLA Health. In the new contract, 3,500 L.A. Care members will have access to UCLA Health's services. This is the second time this year that L.A. Care and UCLA have partnered to serve the Medi-Cal population in Los Angeles County. In July, L.A. Care announced four full medical school scholarships to students at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, as part of Elevating the Safety Net, an initiative to recruit highly-qualified primary care physicians to the L.A. County safety net.
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L.A. Care’s mission is to provide access to quality health care for L.A. County's vulnerable and low-income communities, and to support the safety net required to achieve that purpose. L.A. Care prioritizes quality, access and inclusion, elevating health care for all of L.A. County.
Health Homes Program
A California program for Medi-Cal beneficiaries with complex medical needs and chronic conditions reduced the number of emergency department visits and hospital stays among its enrollees, according to an evaluation published by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. The California Department of Health Care Services’ program was open to Medi-Cal beneficiaries who had chronic physical conditions, substance use disorders and/or serious mental illness. It was run by managed care plans that contracted with about 260 community-based care groups to provide comprehensive care management to coordinate physical health, behavioral health and community-based social services.
For those enrollees, the change lowered the annual cost of medical bills - which the state pays - by an average of $1,113 per person, the report found. About 90,000 people in 12 California counties initially enrolled in the Health Homes Program, which ran from July 2018 to December 2021. The largest portion of participants (48%) were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, 59% were women and 47% were Latino. About 8% of those in the program were experiencing homelessness or were at risk of homelessness during the study period. And participants’ most common chronic conditions, prior to the start of the program, were depression (73%), hypertension (65%) and diabetes (49%).
UCLA researchers measured changes two years before and two years after enrollment and compared the results with data from Medi-Cal beneficiaries who were not enrolled in the program but had similar demographics and health conditions and comparable use of health services. They found that over that period, visits to emergency departments declined for enrollees in the Health Homes Program, especially those with serious mental illnesses, and that program participants had fewer visits than the control group overall. The overall rate of hospitalizations was also lower for those in the program, with a significant decline among those with chronic health conditions or substance use disorders. Those enrolled in the program were also more likely to have their high blood pressure under control than those who weren’t enrolled.
“The goal of the Health Homes Program was to address the critical needs of Medi-Cal beneficiaries with a very complex profile who were in need of extensive care management,” said Nadereh Pourat, the report’s lead author and the head of the Center for Health Policy Research’s Health Economics and Evaluation Research Program.
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Patient Information for Olive View-UCLA Medical Center
If you are scheduled for an appointment at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, please arrive to the clinic 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment. When preparing to come for your admission, please leave all valuables, such as jewelry, cash, checks or credit cards, electronic equipment, etc. Your completed health care advanced directive form, if you have one. If you need to come to Olive View-UCLA Medical Center for an unscheduled visit, such as to the Emergency Room or Urgent Care, please bring some form of photo identification and address verification with you, if possible.
Addressing Misconceptions
The University is proud of the work it does to improve the health and well-being of Californians enrolled in Medi-Cal. When concerns are brought to attention about service, they are taken seriously. The University of California’s academic health centers are committed to their public service mission of improving the health of all Californians, especially the most vulnerable. Unfortunately, comments made in a recent opinion piece in Los Angeles Times do not accurately reflect how UC is supporting the health of the people of California.
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tags: #UCLA #Medical #acceptance #Medi-Cal
