L.A. Care Health Plan recently announced that it is now providing health insurance to more than 1 million low-income residents in Los Angeles County through a number of programs that include Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and Medicare Special Needs Plan.

Aside from the economic downturn, L.A. Care’s growth was fueled by its partnerships with the county and state. For example, L.A. Care was selected in 2011 by the state to transition seniors and people with disabilities (SPDs) into managed care. This transition of SPDs into managed care alone has led to a growth of approximately 8,000 to 10,000 members per month.

The state’s proposed plan to move dual eligibles into managed care is another initiative that may further contribute to L.A. Care’s growth once the four pilot projects are selected. Los Angeles County is expected to be selected as a pilot county given the large dual-eligible population of 370,000 and potential savings to the state. It is anticipated that the selected health plans and counties will be announced in early April.

L.A. Care’s membership breakdown is as follows: 963,000 Medi-Cal members; 17,000 Healthy Families members; 40,000 In-Home Support Services workers’ coverage; and 2,600 Medicare Advantage HMO SNP members.