UCLA Health contract lapse leaves thousands of low-income patients seeking new specialists

A long-standing Medi-Cal contract that let UCLA Health provide specialty services to roughly 9,000 seriously ill patients from Health Care LA expired on June 30, leaving thousands of low-income individuals searching for new doctors. The patients, who have relied on UCLA for cancer, infectious-disease, transplant and high-risk women’s care, were told many appointments would be cancelled. UCLA and Health Care LA announced a tentative plan to transition existing cases over the next year, but the university warned it cannot take an unlimited influx of new referrals because of existing capacity constraints.

Health Care LA’s CEO Sabra Matovsky said UCLA declined to renegotiate and is effectively forcing Medi-Cal patients out while expanding elsewhere. Some UCLA clinicians expressed disappointment, arguing the university should prioritize care for all Californians. UCLA highlighted its broader safety-net contributions, including $270 million in unreimbursed care and ongoing contracts serving other Medi-Cal patients, as it prepares a $500 million neuropsychiatric hospital in Mid-Wilshire.