Ross-Loos Medical Group
Encyclopedia
Ross-Loos Medical Group was a comprehensive prepaid health services plan with 29 medical offices throughout Los Angeles
, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino
Counties in California
and a large multi-specialty hospital
located on Temple Street (Los Angeles)
.
Ross-Loos was established in 1929 by two physician
s, Donald E. Ross and H. Clifford Loos, older brother of writer Anita Loos
. The plan consisted of monthly payments which assured benefits of medical and hospital care to over two thousand employees of Los Angeles County and the Department of Water and Power
and their families.
The founders believed that health care
could be improved by combining prepayment of services, eliminating the financial barriers faced by patient
s at the time of needed care, with the sharing of medical records and the ease of consultation in a medical group. The focus was on the improvement of medical care quality, rather than financial success, and many of the concepts in these plans built on a public health approach that encouraged prevention. These plans included prenatal care
, well-baby visits, and immunizations
in standard benefit packages, with small or no copayments, in an era when even the hospital costs of maternity stays were often excluded from traditional insurance
.
Thus, Ross-Loos Medical Group was the first "health maintenance organization
" (HMO) in the United States
, a term that came into being in the 1970s.
Over several years many other employee groups, mostly governmental, joined the plan. Ross-Loos was so successful that the first small medical office on Grand Avenue in Los Angeles expanded into an enormous organization with nineteen medical offices and a large multi-specialty hospital on Temple Street in Los Angeles by 1979.
In 1980, Ross-Loos Medical Group was purchased by the Insurance Company of North America (INA) HealthPlan (see HMO International and California Medical Group and merged into its medical office operations which created over twenty-nine medical office locations throughout southern California. Its new name was "INA and Ross-Loos HealthPlans". This new operational name was in existence a short time until 1982; through a merger of the Insurance Company of North America (INA) and Connecticut General (CG) their names changed to become CIGNA
. Ross-Loos Medical Group, then became known as CIGNA HealthPlans of California and was merged into the large CIGNA Employee Benefits Division. In 1997 CIGNA made a decision to divest itself of its "owned delivery system" or "staff model" (see HMO - staff model) and sold their operations to MedPartners. This sale to MedPartners also caused a new name change of the CIGNA "owned delivery system" in Southern California
, The system became merged into the recent purchase in southern California by Medpartners of the Friendly Hills Medical Group. In 1999 MedPartners was placed in receivership due to inability to manage the combined operations of its southern California subsidiaries Friendly Hills Medical Group, Talbert Medical Group, Mullikan Medical Group, Vineyard Medical Group, and Riverside Medical Clinic. These MedPartners-owned facilities were divested and sold to physician-owned delivery systems or closed. The MedPartners name was changed to Caremark Rx
, the Talbert Medical Group was sold to the physicians of the Talbert Medical Group, the Riverside Medical Clinic was sold back to the member physicians and remains in operation with over 130 physicians and the Mullikan, and Vineyard Medical Groups were eventually closed. The Friendly Hills Medical Group was acquired by KPC Global Care KPC
"see Chadhuri Medical Group" and continued operations for a short while, however it too was placed into receivership by the State of California Department of Corporations in 1999 and closed down. The original Ross-Loos Medical Group facilities were closed and "Medical Center" - Hospital on Temple Street in Los Angeles was sold to The Queen of Angels Hospital.
The original Ross-Loos Medical Group, medical offices and hospital ended with this sale in 1999 some 70 years after its beginning.
The names "Ross-Loos", "Ross Loos Medical Group," and "Ross Loos HealthPlans" are still owned by CIGNA Corporation and remain registered with the state of California Department of Corporations, Department of Insurance, and Department of Managed Care.
A street in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles bears the name Ross Loos. The road leads to the Silver Lake Medical Center.
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...
Counties in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and a large multi-specialty hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
located on Temple Street (Los Angeles)
Temple Street (Los Angeles)
Temple Street is a street in the City of Los Angeles, California. The street is an east-west thoroughfare that runs through Downtown Los Angeles parallel to the Hollywood Freeway between Virgil Avenue past Alameda Street to the banks of the Los Angeles River...
.
Ross-Loos was established in 1929 by two physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s, Donald E. Ross and H. Clifford Loos, older brother of writer Anita Loos
Anita Loos
Anita Loos was an American screenwriter, playwright and author.-Early life:Born Corinne Anita Loos in Sisson, California , where her father, R. Beers Loos, had opened a tabloid newspaper for which her mother, Minerva "Minnie" Smith did most of the work of a newspaper publisher...
. The plan consisted of monthly payments which assured benefits of medical and hospital care to over two thousand employees of Los Angeles County and the Department of Water and Power
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is the largest municipal utility in the United States, serving over four million residents. It was founded in 1902 to supply water and electricity to residents and businesses in Los Angeles and surrounding communities...
and their families.
The founders believed that health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
could be improved by combining prepayment of services, eliminating the financial barriers faced by patient
Patient
A patient is any recipient of healthcare services. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, veterinarian, or other health care provider....
s at the time of needed care, with the sharing of medical records and the ease of consultation in a medical group. The focus was on the improvement of medical care quality, rather than financial success, and many of the concepts in these plans built on a public health approach that encouraged prevention. These plans included prenatal care
Prenatal care
Prenatal care refers to the medical and nursing care recommended for women before and during pregnancy. The aim of good prenatal care is to detect any potential problems early, to prevent them if possible , and to direct the woman to appropriate specialists, hospitals, etc...
, well-baby visits, and immunizations
Vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
in standard benefit packages, with small or no copayments, in an era when even the hospital costs of maternity stays were often excluded from traditional insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
.
Thus, Ross-Loos Medical Group was the first "health maintenance organization
Health maintenance organization
A health maintenance organization is an organization that provides managed care for health insurance contracts in the United States as a liaison with health care providers...
" (HMO) in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a term that came into being in the 1970s.
Over several years many other employee groups, mostly governmental, joined the plan. Ross-Loos was so successful that the first small medical office on Grand Avenue in Los Angeles expanded into an enormous organization with nineteen medical offices and a large multi-specialty hospital on Temple Street in Los Angeles by 1979.
In 1980, Ross-Loos Medical Group was purchased by the Insurance Company of North America (INA) HealthPlan (see HMO International and California Medical Group and merged into its medical office operations which created over twenty-nine medical office locations throughout southern California. Its new name was "INA and Ross-Loos HealthPlans". This new operational name was in existence a short time until 1982; through a merger of the Insurance Company of North America (INA) and Connecticut General (CG) their names changed to become CIGNA
CIGNA
Cigna , headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, is a global health services company, owing to its expanding international footprint and the fact that it provides administrative services only to approximately 80 percent of its clients...
. Ross-Loos Medical Group, then became known as CIGNA HealthPlans of California and was merged into the large CIGNA Employee Benefits Division. In 1997 CIGNA made a decision to divest itself of its "owned delivery system" or "staff model" (see HMO - staff model) and sold their operations to MedPartners. This sale to MedPartners also caused a new name change of the CIGNA "owned delivery system" in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, The system became merged into the recent purchase in southern California by Medpartners of the Friendly Hills Medical Group. In 1999 MedPartners was placed in receivership due to inability to manage the combined operations of its southern California subsidiaries Friendly Hills Medical Group, Talbert Medical Group, Mullikan Medical Group, Vineyard Medical Group, and Riverside Medical Clinic. These MedPartners-owned facilities were divested and sold to physician-owned delivery systems or closed. The MedPartners name was changed to Caremark Rx
Caremark Rx
Caremark Pharmacy Services is the prescription benefit management subsidiary of CVS Caremark Corporation, headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island and Nashville, Tennessee.-Company history:...
, the Talbert Medical Group was sold to the physicians of the Talbert Medical Group, the Riverside Medical Clinic was sold back to the member physicians and remains in operation with over 130 physicians and the Mullikan, and Vineyard Medical Groups were eventually closed. The Friendly Hills Medical Group was acquired by KPC Global Care KPC
KPC
KPC is an abbreviation for* kiloparsec, a unit of measurement used in astronomyKPC is an acronym for* Kaltim Prima Coal, A thermal coal mining in Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia....
"see Chadhuri Medical Group" and continued operations for a short while, however it too was placed into receivership by the State of California Department of Corporations in 1999 and closed down. The original Ross-Loos Medical Group facilities were closed and "Medical Center" - Hospital on Temple Street in Los Angeles was sold to The Queen of Angels Hospital.
The original Ross-Loos Medical Group, medical offices and hospital ended with this sale in 1999 some 70 years after its beginning.
The names "Ross-Loos", "Ross Loos Medical Group," and "Ross Loos HealthPlans" are still owned by CIGNA Corporation and remain registered with the state of California Department of Corporations, Department of Insurance, and Department of Managed Care.
A street in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles bears the name Ross Loos. The road leads to the Silver Lake Medical Center.