The Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), the national trade association that represents not-for-profit safety net health plans, is hosting a three-day conference in New Orleans where plans participating in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace will gain insights on emerging issues and trends. Cristina Inglese, the Executive Director for Commercial Products at L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan, is on a panel titled Consumer Experience: Working With New Exchange Enrollees & Impact of Redetermination on Your Market.
Inglese will introduce attendees to L.A. Care’s model – a public option competing against commercial plans in California’s ACA exchange, Covered California. For the past decade, L.A. Care was the only public plan on the state’s exchange, proving a public option can keep rates affordable and expand access to high-quality care. Inglese will explain that L.A. Care’s vision always included members moving between the health plan’s Medi-Cal product and its Covered California product, L.A. Care Covered, based upon their income.
A new state law has created a seamless model allowing people to retain health coverage when income changes make them ineligible for Medi-Cal. Now, they are automatically switched to the Covered California health plan with the lowest rates in their county. That is L.A. Care in Los Angeles County. During the 2024 open enrollment period, L.A. Care identified 29,000 members who lost Medi-Cal due to income changes and are now in L.A. Care Covered.
Including L.A. Care as the public option on the Covered California exchange has helped create a fair, equitable and effective system that keeps competitor rates more affordable in Los Angeles County. And with the help of the new state law, L.A. Care is ensuring that people who have a change in income don’t fall through the cracks.
Dekker Dirksen, the Director of Public Policy for the Community Health Plan of Washington, will join Inglese on her panel, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.