LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles’s publically operated health plan announced a COVID-19 vaccination incentive program on Nov. 8 that will give its members 12 years and older a $50 gift card for getting either the first or second dose.
LA Care Health Plan initiated the program to encourage its unvaccinated Medi-Cal and Cal MediConnect members to get a jab.
The gift cards will be provided for eligible members who received their first or second shot on or after Nov. 1.
According to the health plan, just under 61 percent of LA Care’s Medi-Cal and Cal MediConnect members aged 12 and up have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
“Given that roughly 30% of Los Angeles County residents are Medi-Cal beneficiaries, that is far from where we need it to be,” Dr. Richard Seidman, LA Care’s chief medical officer, said in a statement. “Our members are vaccinated at nearly 20 percentage points lower than the community at large here in Los Angeles, a reality seen for Medi-Cal beneficiaries statewide. We need to do everything possible to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates among our members to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths and get past this pandemic. Our hope is that the gift cards might be the tipping point to convince people not yet vaccinated to do so.”
Gift card supplies are limited, so LA Care urged members to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Those who do will receive a postcard in about four weeks with instructions on how to select a gift card. It may take up to 12 weeks to receive the selected gift card.
LA Care Health Plan serves more than 2.4 million members in Los Angeles County, making it the largest publicly operated health plan in the country.
