MemorialCare Health System Announces Opening of Seaside Health Plan

LOS ANGELES and ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Sept. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MemorialCare Health System's Seaside Health Plan has opened for business to serve those enrolled in Medicare, Medi-Cal, Dual Eligibles and Commercial health plans. The new health plan serves individuals and families who are members of partner health plans and select Seaside Health Plan as their participating network. Seaside was also selected to participate in the California Children Services (CCS) demonstration project that addresses the needs of children with certain diseases and ongoing medical conditions.

In November 2012, MemorialCare announced an agreement to purchase specific assets of Universal Care with the goal of providing access to quality health care and the region's top hospitals. The agreement included staff highly experienced in health plan operations and managing lives through plan-to-plan contracts serviced by assignment of agreements with Universal Care's contracted providers and MemorialCare's primary care physician network. The state's Department of Managed Care approved the Knox Keene health plan license earlier this year, and Seaside opened for business Sept. 1 with its new Long Beach location at 2840 Long Beach Blvd.

The not-for-profit Seaside Health Plan is named after Long Beach's first hospital which opened in 1907 and is today Long Beach Memorial. Together with Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach, the two hospitals comprise the West's second largest hospital campus.

"Seaside Health Plan is available to Los Angeles County families when selecting their primary provider from a participating insurer," explains Jay Davis, Seaside's senior vice president. Seaside currently contracts with Health Net, L.A. Care Health Plan, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and Care 1st Health Plan. Seaside supports its members by providing convenient access to high quality, evidence-based medicine, superior value, exceptional service and a network of integrated providers. It expects to expand into Orange County and participate in the Covered California health exchange in the future.

Seaside provides members easy access to more than 300 primary care physicians and specialists, top hospitals and convenient modern, full-service health care centers. Families who select Seaside Health Plan can access Miller Children's, the region's premier pediatric hospital, as well as Community Hospital Long Beach and Long Beach Memorial.

Medical groups affiliated with Seaside Health Plan include providers from MemorialCare Medical Group, Children's Clinic Serving Children and Their Families, Family Medicine Program and other community-based physicians.

With prominent children's and adult hospitals in the network, Seaside members have the unique opportunity of continuous, uninterrupted care throughout their lifetime. "Parents have peace of mind knowing pediatric emergency and complex medical conditions may be treated at Miller Children's," says Barry Smith, M.D., Seaside Health Plan's Chief Medical Officer. Miller Children's—the nation's ninth largest children's hospital—has advanced pediatric surgeons for every major surgical specialty with pediatric specialists and sub-specialists always on call. As children become adults, their care continues with nearby physicians and hospitals associated with MemorialCare.

These developments enhance MemorialCare's mission of ensuring local communities convenient access to a network of exceptional integrated providers—top hospitals, physicians, outpatient facilities, ambulatory surgery centers and preventive care for all ages. In recent months, MemorialCare announced partnerships in imaging and ambulatory surgery centers and added new physicians to its medical groups. More strategic partnerships will be announced this fall.

"The new health plan and other capabilities further our role in population health management, medical homes, accountable care, information technology, best-practice medicine and other health care reform elements," says Barry Arbuckle, Ph.D., MemorialCare Health System president and CEO. "They expand our ability to partner more directly with health plans, employers, hospitals, physicians and providers to better serve patients and local communities."

For information on Seaside Health Plan, call 1-855-367-7747 (1-855-FOR-SSHP) or visit www.seasidehealthplan.org.

MemorialCare Health System is a not-for-profit integrated delivery system with more than 200 care sites, 12,000 employees, 2,500 affiliated physicians and six top hospitals – Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach, Community Hospital Long Beach, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills and San Clemente; a medical group – MemorialCare Medical Group; an Independent Practice Association (IPA) – Greater Newport Physicians; MemorialCare HealthExpress retail clinics; ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers and numerous outpatient health centers throughout the Southland. For information, visit memorialcare.org

SOURCE MemorialCare Health System