Blue Shield of California Foundation Announces $3.4 Million in Third-Quarter Funding

New grants will support California’s safety net in the home-stretch toward health reform, and help improve systems and policies to prevent domestic violence 

San Francisco, CA (September 24, 2013) — Today, Blue Shield of California Foundation announced $3.4 million in third-quarter grantmaking. Many of the new grants focus on positioning California’s safety net for success when millions of previously uninsured Californians will become newly eligible for healthcare coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. 

“California has made unprecedented progress in this historic effort to bring health care access to millions of underserved individuals in need,” said Peter Long, Ph.D., president and CEO of Blue Shield of California Foundation. “These investments aim to bolster the safety net system’s continued transformation toward greater access and better value.”

The Foundation is also targeting funds to improve coordinated, statewide efforts to prevent domestic violence and help advance the policy dialogue to better protect and respond to survivors and their families. 

Individual grants are as follows:

HEALTH CARE AND COVERAGE ($2,817,384) 

In just over three months, the state of California and counties will take their biggest step yet in implementing health reform as they work to transition and enroll millions of Californians into Medi-Cal. Local safety net providers will play a key role, specifically by continuing to ensure access to care and strengthening their systems to serve newly-covered populations and the remaining uninsured. They will also help to lead the way in educating low-income patients about new opportunities to gain coverage and access the services they need. 

To help safety net providers meet these challenges, the Foundation is investing $875,000 in UCLA’s Anderson School of Management to train executive leaders from the state’s largest community health centers in key areas of financial and operational management. The Foundation also awarded a $400,000 grant to the California Primary Care Association to help community health centers improve care, contain costs, measure performance, and align with other safety net partners in preparation for full implementation of the Affordable Care Act. 

The following are additional Q3 grants for Health Care and Coverage:

  • California Department of Health Care Services (Statewide; $117,000): To support the successful transition of over 600,000 Low Income Health Program enrollees into Medi-Cal.
  • California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (Statewide; $250,868): To support safety net hospital systems in their effort to advance care delivery, efficiency, and coordination with other safety net providers in preparation for health reform. 
  • California School Health Centers Association (Statewide; $200,000): To improve practices and payment models in school-based health centers.
  • Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles (Statewide; $124,516): To engage stakeholders and analyze data to facilitate the seamless transition of over 600,000 Low Income Health Program enrollees into Medi-Cal.
  • The Center to Promote HealthCare Access, Inc. d/b/a Social Interest Solutions (Statewide; $150,000 over 12 months): To support a strategic planning process that will advance the use of technology in improving access to public programs.
  • Los Angeles Unified School District Student Health Services Support Fund (Los Angeles; $150,000): To help a network of 14 Los Angeles Unified School District Wellness Centers develop and use a new data system to improve access to, and quality of, health care for children and families.
  • California Advanced Primary Care Institute (Statewide; $150,000): To pilot a safety net primary-care redesign collaborative that brings together public and private providers who serve low-income patients to improve coordination, enhance patient experience, and reduce costs.
  • Health Leads (San Francisco Bay Area; $150,000): To improve health for vulnerable populations by supporting the pilot of a model that addresses the social service needs of patients at a safety net site.
  • Texas Health Institute (Statewide; $100,000): To assess California’s safety net hospital systems’ progress on transforming care delivery, and to identify best practices from comparable systems around the country.
  • Coalition of Orange County Community Health Centers (Orange County; $150,000): To develop the Network of Orange County Community Health Centers, a regional non-profit independent practice association of community health centers in Orange County. 

BLUE SHIELD AGAINST VIOLENCE ($495,000)

The Foundation announced several new grants aimed at improving California’s system of prevention and services for those affected by domestic violence. They include a $75,000 grant to the California Office of Emergency Services to integrate the prevention of domestic violence and sexual abuse. This effort is in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health –Violence Prevention Unit, California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, and the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault. 

A new $75,000 grant to The Women’s Foundation of California will support a team of five domestic violence leaders to participate in the next class of the Women’s Policy Institute. The program works to equip leaders with the skills and guidance needed to effectively advocate for new policies aimed at helping victims and preventing violence before it starts. 

The following are additional Q3 Blue Shield Against Violence grants:

  • Full Frame Initiative, Inc. (Statewide; $185,000): To engage domestic violence stakeholders, and linguistically- and culturally-marginalized communities, in an effort to better support underserved families.
  • Tides Center (San Francisco Bay Area; $85,000): For the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium to analyze recent domestic violence cases in San Francisco County, in order to improve systems, better coordinate community response, and provide a new model for other California counties.
  • Charitable Ventures of Orange County (Orange County; $75,000): For the Orange County Women’s Health Project to plan for a county-wide, collaborative and integrated health and domestic violence prevention system in Orange County.

SPECIAL PROJECTS ($93,000)

The Foundation awarded Radio Bilingüe, Inc. a $93,000 grant to produce and broadcast a series of public radio talk shows and features that reach underserved, primarily low-income Latino communities. The talk shows aim to raise awareness about domestic violence, and help educate these audiences about options for individuals who won’t be eligible for coverage under the Affordable Care Act and how they can still access preventive care. 

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ABOUT BLUE SHIELD OF CALIFORNIA FOUNDATION

Blue Shield of California Foundation is one of the state’s largest and most trusted grantmaking organizations. Our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians, particularly the underserved, by making health care accessible, effective, and affordable, and by ending domestic violence. For more information visit: www.blueshieldcafoundation.org.