In Brief: L.A. Care Accepting Cash Payments For Premiums; State\'s Residents Say They Face Treatment Barriers Over Psychological Care
L.A. Care Accepting Cash For Covered California Payments
L.A. Care Health Plan has entered into an agreement with a vendor to accept premium patients from its commercial enrollees in cash.
L.A. Care entered into an agreement with Sunnyvale-based PayNearMe that will allow its enrollees to make premium payments at 7-11, ACE Cash Express and Family Dollar stores. Enrollees can obtain a special payment code through their phone or online and present the code and their payment to a store cashier. L.A. Care immediately receives payments.
Although L.A. Care is the primary Medi-Cal managed care plan for Los Angeles County, it has also enrolled nearly 40,000 individuals through the Covered California health insurance exchange. Its relatively low premiums has attracted a significant number of lower-income enrollees who do not qualify for Medi-Cal.
L.A. Care officials noted that 28% of Americans do not have regular access to a bank account or credit card, making it difficult to pay their premiums in the traditional manner.
"Almost everyone is now required to have health insurance, but for people who have limited or no access to a bank account, it can be difficult to pay monthly premiums, until now," said L.A. Care Chief Executive Officer John Baackes. "L.A. Care exists to provide access to quality healthcare for Los Angeles County's vulnerable residents, and this partnership with PayNearMe enables us to do exactly that, in a way that is convenient and easy for our members."
Rand: State’s Residents Say They Face Barriers Over Psychological Health Issues
A new survey of Californians experiencing psychological distress by the Santa Monica-based Rand Corp. think tank concludes that many of them believe their condition comes with a stigma and support is often difficult to come by.
According to the survey, 41% of those surveyed believe that people are caring and sympathetic to those with mental illnesses. Meanwhile, 81% believe that people with mental illness experience high levels of prejudice and discrimination.
The survey consisted of an interview with 1,066 Californians who had indicated they had experiences mild to serious psychological distress.It is the first population-based survey of individuals who are at risk for or are experiencing mental health problems, but may or may not have obtained treatment. Rand officials suggested in a statement that this population has often been overlooked.
“These high levels of perceived stigma may discourage individuals facing a mental health challenge from getting needed support from friends and family, the workplace, school and mental health professionals,” said Eunice Wong, lead author of the report and a Rand behavioral scientist.
Rand conducted the survey on behalf of the California Mental Health Services Administration. The intent was to create prevention and early intervention programs designed to improve the mental health of the state’s residents.
