Press Releases: Southern California
February 14, 2008
Kaiser Permanente Provides $3 million in Grants to Help Uninsured Get the Care They Need
21 California Healthcare Coalitions Join Initiative to Improve Care for Uninsured
PASADENA, Calif. – "Need to see a specialist? No insurance? Wait in line," is the harsh reality underscored by a survey of California clinics and public hospitals reporting that waits for appointments with medical specialists are taking from two weeks to as long as twelve months and, as a result, the health of six million low-income Californians is deteriorating. Kaiser Permanente has stepped forward to provide $3 million in planning grants to develop strategies and solutions for this growing issue.
The survey reported that California clinics are experiencing an increased demand for primary care services and a corresponding increased need for specialty care services. Such services are varied and may include: podiatry, ophthalmology, dermatology, surgery, gastroenterology, orthopedics, and many others. Limited resources, insufficient number of specialists, declining numbers of specialists willing to treat Medi-Cal patients, inappropriate referrals, and poor coordination among providers contribute to the access problem.
The survey was conducted as part of the Specialty Care Access Initiative, a partnership formed by Kaiser Permanente’s Northern and Southern California community benefit programs with the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH), and the California Primary Care Association (CPCA). 115 community clinics and 15 public hospitals were asked to document the complexity of the issue and identify areas of opportunity for improving the health care delivery system.
Across the state, 21 community coalitions that serve the uninsured and Medi-Cal populations will be working together to seek solutions. The Specialty Care Access Initiative funds each coalition with $150,000 for planning and also provides the opportunity for multi-year grants for implementation of systems designed to improve access to specialty care. Kaiser Permanente will also provide training, expertise and technical assistance to clinics that play a vital role as providers of last resort to those who lack access to many basic healthcare services.
"The current system of care is overburdened and inadequate," said Angela Coron, Kaiser Permanente’s Community Benefit Director for Southern California. "Barriers to specialty care have created a dynamic where those who are uninsured or underinsured go to a doctor only when they absolutely need to and often when their illness has become so chronic that it affects their work, their schooling, and their family life. This Specialty Care Grant Initiative will support the work of examining, coordinating and sharing community-based solutions to the challenges of seeing medical specialists."
Coron noted that many local coalitions have begun working on promising practices that could result in real improvements, such as increasing the number of specialists by providing additional training for primary care providers; by starting "specialty care centers" within their communities; or by decreasing demand through better referral guidelines and communications between specialists and referring providers.
"Kaiser Permanente looks forward to solutions that will come up based on local strengths, resources and relationships," said Diana M. Bontá; PhD, R.N., vice president of public affairs for Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region. "We are committed to playing a major role in eliminating health disparities by partnering with community coalitions. This Specialty Care Access Initiative has the potential to improve the lives of families throughout the state who lack insurance and struggle to preserve their health."
In the following eleven target counties in Southern California, these coalitions will lead the planning phase:
- Orange County - Access Orange County
- San Bernardino – Latino Health Collaborative
- Long Beach - The Children’s Clinic
- Westside/South Bay - COPE Health Solutions
- San Diego - Council of Community Clinics Healthcare Network
- San Gabriel Valley - East Valley Community Health Center
- Kern County - Kern Medical Center
- Mid-City/East Los Angeles - LAC + USC Healthcare Network
- South Los Angeles - St. John’s Well Child & Family Center
- San Fernando Valley - Valley Care Community Consortia
- Ventura - Ventura County HealthCare Agency Clinic
Editorial Note: Grant recipients and coalition members in each county are available for interviews. Please contact Socorro Serrano, Kaiser Permanente Southern California regional senior media representative, 626-405-5534.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with Southern California headquarters in Pasadena, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of 3.3 million members in Southern California. Today it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Kaiser Permanente's Southern California Region includes more than 49,900 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 6,000 physicians representing all specialties. More information about Kaiser Permanente can be found at kaiserpermanente.org.
