Founded in 1979, Woodland Hills-based Health Net provides health insurance to individuals, families, businesses, Medicare and Medi-Cal members, who receive no- or low-cost coverage.
A wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corp., approximately two-thirds of the company’s clients are Medi-Cal members, with the largest population in California generally living within Los Angeles County.
Although health executives are used to dealing with fluctuating numbers that necessitated changing approaches, the unprecedented health care emergency brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic turned traditional service models upside down.
While elective surgeries were postponed and members delayed in-person physician visits, insurers were required to cover testing and extended hospitalizations.
Fast-forward to today and insurers like Health Net are finding new ways to address the deferred care for patients and their families who are again seeking to schedule medical visits, screenings and immunizations. For some Californians, the lack of regular care has led to serious health consequences requiring immediate care.
All this, as states, including California, have resumed the annual redetermination process for those on Medi-Cal, renewing documentation and reverifying eligibility for large numbers of enrollees.
The changing landscape is one that Pooja Mittal, chief health equity officer at Health Net, and her team are working to address.
“We believe every person deserves to have a health safety net,” said Mittal.
To fulfill that mission, Health Net has increased its efforts to utilize telemedicine for patients so they can speak with medical and mental health providers when convenient and allow for follow up with in-person appointments.
“We’ve intentionally expanded our use of telemedicine, which so many people came to rely on during the pandemic,” said Mittal. “I think telemedicine can be especially useful to our Medi-Cal members who may have less flexibility to take a day off from work. The visits can be done from almost anywhere as long as the member is not driving and has a phone and access to Wi-Fi.”
Internally, Health Net’s member connections team has been identifying people who are due for appointments or preventative care screenings and reaching out to them individually to help them set up appointments.
“In 2024 alone, over 13,000 calls have gone out to our members,” said Mittal. “Setting up an appointment can be time consuming and challenging especially for those who don’t speak the language. We pair members with representatives who speak their languages or use interpretation services.”
Health Net is also participating in a new virtual behavioral health initiative for K-12 students in L.A. County’s public schools.
The company is one of two insurers to join forces with the L.A. County Office of Education and the L.A. County Department of Mental Health to provide access to mental health services for students through a partnership with telehealth company Hazel Health. All Local Education Agencies in the county can opt in to participate in the program, which allows students to speak with a provider while in school. Health Net and L.A. Care Health Plan have allocated up to $24 million to cover the cost over a two-year period.
Members are not the only ones that were impacted by pandemic. Independent physicians are also facing challenges, including securing adequate staffing and resources, said Mittal.
To support its physicians, Health Net awarded $2 million in grants to 47 independent physician practices in California.
As Mittal explained, the grants are meant to help remove barriers so physicians can take advantage of available funding from the state and transform their practices, keeping pace with the rapidly changing demands of the health care industry.
