LA Care Health Plan Grants $2M to Address Provider Burnout, Shortages

LA Care Health Plan aims to address provider burnout and workforce shortages by providing $2 million in loan repayment grants to physicians at safety-net organizations in Los Angeles County.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased stress levels and burnout among healthcare providers. According to data from the Commonwealth Fund, half of primary care physicians under 55 years old are experiencing burnout, while half of physicians over 55 plan to stop seeing patients within the next year.

These conditions may exacerbate the already severe workforce shortages the industry is facing. However, investing in physician support could help minimize provider burnout.

LA Care Health Plan is investing $2 million to provide student loan debt relief to 14 physicians working at safety-net clinics and practices.

“Nearly 90 percent of medical school graduates have some student loan debt, and the average amount owed is more than $241,000. That has contributed to the shortage of primary care physicians in underserved communities,” John Baackes, chief executive officer of LA Care, said in the press release. “LA Care is committed to ensuring its members, many of whom are low-income people of color, have access to high quality physicians.”

The funding marks the sixth round of LA Care’s Provider Loan Repayment Program grants, which are a part of the Elevating Safety Net initiative. The payer launched the initiative in 2018, committing $155 million toward recruiting, training, and retaining primary care physicians in the LA County safety net.

The payer has awarded nearly $26 million in loan repayment grants to 158 physicians since 2018. Grant recipients are selected with the help of the nonprofit organization Uncommon Good, the press release noted.

Two of the grantees included in the latest round are Jeanne Delgado, MD, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital LA, and Grace Nguyen, MD, a pediatrician at Tri-State Community Healthcare Clinic in Pomona, CA.

“The sense of service, enjoyment, and humility that comes with choosing to practice primary care for low-income families is priceless,” said Delgado. “We know that their care deserves to be valued, and I am so thankful that LA Care, in turn, sees that value in us. Thank you for investing in these families.”

The Provider Loan Repayment Program offers physicians up to $5,000 per month for up to five years. In addition, the Elevating Safety Net Initiative includes the Provider Recruitment Program, which aims to support new providers at safety-net organizations. The program offers individual grants of up to $125,000 per hired provider.

In April 2022, LA Care announced its latest round of Provider Recruitment Program grants, which included $1.75 million for 13 safety-net clinics and independent practices.

The payer’s initiative also includes a residency support program, a home care training program, and medical fellowship opportunities.

According to industry experts, provider shortages will drive high healthcare spending in 2023, making it difficult for employers and health plans to negotiate prices in their contracts.

Provider shortages also create access issues for services like mental healthcare. According to one study, private health plan members noted that their payers’ provider networks for mental healthcare were slim.