In The News

(French Camp, CA) – Health Plan of San Joaquin (HPSJ) has announced that Satish Kabra, MD, has joined the organization as a medical director. Dr. Kabra is board certified in internal medicine.  An internist by training, he has clinical experience as a hospitalist in California and Texas.  His recent experiences include being a medical director at Brown & Toland Physicians (San Francisco) and working as a hospitalist at St. Joseph’s Medical Center (Stockton).

“As a physician, I am passionate about solving America’s healthcare problems with effective leadership,” said Dr. Kabra, who is a member of the American Association for Physician Leadership.  “As an area resident, I have seen the impact of limited access to quality health care for underserved communities and I’m committed to helping Health Plan of San Joaquin in its continuing efforts to improve this access,” he added.

“HPSJ, along with other Medi-Cal health plans in the state, has seen exponential growth during the past years of Medi-Cal expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). With Dr. Kabra’s strategic and tactical experiences improving processes for complex health care organizations, and his attention to bettering measurable outcomes for patients, he is a strong addition to our medical leadership team,” said HPSJ Chief Medical Officer Lakshmi Dhanvanthari, MD.

One HPSJ campaign that impressed Dr. Kabra before accepting the medical director position was the ongoing HPSJ Kids Oral Health Starts at Birth Initiative.  Dr. Kabra pointed to the innovating ways HPSJ is now leveraging its resources to encourage HPSJ’s network of doctors and clinics to incorporate oral health care into wellness visits for children, and use HPSJ-supported fluoride treatments (as local water systems do not provide fluoride protection), all of this alongside a social marketing education campaign to encourage local families to adapt good oral health habits.

[NOTE TO EDITORS: Access to early dental treatment is a challenge for Central Valley children.  Concerns have been mounting for the potentially devastating impact on their oral health and their ability to grow and thrive.  Increasingly, studies are pointing to additional dire consequences for the well-being of these kids as they grow into adulthood, including life-long consequences for children too distracted by poor oral health to perform well at school.  HPSJ, as a Medi-Cal managed care public health plan, is not able to provide coverage for dental visits. Those are covered through the State’s Denti-Cal Program.  However, HPSJ believes a difference can be made in other ways, to produce better oral health outcomes for our kids, and last fall established the Kids Oral Health Starts at Birth Initiative.]

Now celebrating its 20^th anniversary, HPSJ is the leading Medi-Cal managed care provider for San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. With 340,000 members – more than a third of growth over the last several years since ACA implementation – HPSJ is at the forefront of local health care access and delivery.

Dr. Kabra received his medical degree at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College (Indore, India).  He completed his residency in internal medicine at Good Samaritan Hospital (Baltimore, Maryland), which is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

---

About HPSJ
HPSJ, a not-for-profit health plan, has been serving members and the community since 1996. Located in the heart of California’s multicultural Central Valley, HPSJ is the leading Medi-Cal Managed Care provider in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. HPSJ offers a broad network of providers and works closely with physicians to develop programs and services to ensure quality health care for over 340,000 members – 193,000 are children ages 0 through 18 years old.

HPSJ is currently one of only 12 health plans in California with NCQA Accreditation for a managed care Medi-Cal program. Medicaid is known as Medi-Cal in California. Only 160 Medicaid/HMO plans in the U.S. had this NCQA seal at the time of HPSJ’s 2015 Accreditation.

Photo: Dr. Satish Kabra, HPSJ Medical Director (photo credit: HPSJ, August 2016)

NCQA Accreditation Seal:  Formats available at here.

Media Contact:
David Hurst
Vice President, External Affairs
Health Plan of San Joaquin
Phone: 209-461-2241
dhurst@hpsj.com