News Briefs: L.A. Care, Health Net to Aid People Experiencing Homelessness

L.A. Care Health Plan and Health Net announced on Aug. 28 they have launched two programs that will collectively invest $90 million over five years to help people experiencing homelessness receive access to care. The health plans will invest $60 million in the L.A. County Field Medicine Program, in which 19 providers will provide coordinated care. They also will invest $30 million in the Skid Row Care Collaborative, which will include harm reduction services, extended hours for urgent care and pharmacies, and onsite specialty medical services in Los Angeles’s Skid Row neighborhood. The programs could assist about 85,000 Los Angeles residents, according to L.A. Care and Health Net, which is a division of Centene Corp. 

A federal district judge on Aug. 26 ruled in favor of TennCare beneficiaries who alleged the state’s Medicaid program caused thousands of residents to lose coverage after the introduction in 2019 of an electronic eligibility determination system, Fierce Healthcare reported on Aug. 28. “After years of litigation, plaintiffs have proven TennCare violated their rights under the Medicaid Act, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Americans with Disabilities Act,” the judge wrote. Fierce noted the state may appeal the court’s ruling. The Tennessee Justice Center, National Health Law Program and National Center for Law and Economic filed the lawsuit in March 2020.