L.A. CARE HEALTH PLAN: To Appoint Consumers to Voting Positions

      L.A. Care Health Plan at the end of the month will appoint two individuals -- a health plan member and a health plan member advocate -- to represent consumers on the plan's Board of Governors. According to L.A. Care officials, few managed care organizations, public or private, have governing boards that include consumer representatives with voting privileges. "L.A. Care Health Plan was created by consumers, doctors, advocates and other health care professional who truly believed that consumers should have a real voice in the decisions made about their health," said L.A. Care CEO Anthony Rodgers. "They created a governing board in which consumers and their advocates not only have a voice, but a vote," he said. In addition to serving on the board of governors, health plan members can participate in L.A. Care's advisory committees and board meetings. The election comes on the two-year anniversary of L.A. Care's first month of operation as a licensed health plan. Individuals qualified to run for a member position must be a member of L.A. Care or a parent/guardian/conservator of a member; eligible member advocates must be a volunteer or employee of a community-based agency and must represent L.A. Care members in the course of their activities (release, 3/30).