L.A. Care Health Plan appoints Santana-Chin next CEO

Martha Santana-Chin will take the helm as L.A. Health Plan CEO in January.

Photo courtesy of L.A. Health Plan

The Board of Governors of L.A. Health Plan has unanimously given the green light to appoint Martha Santana-Chin as its next  CEO – making her the first female and Latina CEO to lead the organization, it said last week.

Santana-Chin previously held several leadership roles at various organizations, including an 11-year tenure at Health Net, a Centene company, where she most recently served as Plan Chief Product President in the California Market.

WHAT’S THE IMPACT

The eldest of nine, Santana-Chin is the daughter of immigrants whose family relied on Medi-Cal during her childhood. She’s now a first-generation college graduate, and over a 30-year career has focused largely on underserved communities in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California.

According to L.A. Health Plan, Santana-Chin has emerged a leader in managed care in the state, helping to transition low-income communities into managed care as the program has evolved to encompass whole-person care with integrated medical, behavioral and social services.

She succeeds outgoing CEO John Baackes, who helmed L.A. Care for nearly a decade and whose impending departure was announced in April of this year.

“I’m deeply honored to be the next Chief Executive Officer of L.A. Care as a representative voice of the people we’re serving,” said Santana-Chin. “I have a profound sense of responsibility to LA’s low-income families and look forward to collaborating with the remarkable team at L.A. Care, its board, and its community stakeholders to continue advancing equity in healthcare.”

The organization said that while the Board of Directors considered many qualified candidates, Santana-Chin stood out largely because of her extensive experience in managed care, provider relations, operations, delivery system strategy, network management, value-based care programs and overall business unit accountability.

L.A. Care praised her “exceptional partnership-building skills, ability to cultivate a high-performing, collaborative culture, and strong team-oriented approach.”

THE LARGER TREND

Santana-Chin also serves as Board Chair for the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and Board Chair for the Integrated Healthcare Association. She graduated with a B.S. in finance from California State University-Long Beach and received an MBA from the University of California, Irvine – Paul Merage School of Business. 

She will assume her role as CEO of L.A. Care on January 6.

ON THE RECORD

“Martha’s passion for expanding access to healthcare combined with her humility, empathy, and commitment to building strong and resilient coalitions made her the clear choice to be our next CEO,” said Al Ballesteros, chair of L.A. Care’s Board of Governors. “She understands our stakeholders and their unique needs – whether they be our members, providers, local, state and federal regulators, or community advocates.”

Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.