History

LACMA has a long and rich history. Following are just a few highlights since our inception in 1850.

(Click to download a full narrative history of the Los Angeles County Medical Association.)

• 1850: Brief attempt to organize some aspects of healthcare delivery in California.
• 1856: Birth of the California Medical Association (CMA).
• 1871: Some solo medical practitioners in Los Angeles solidified into a common interest group and began to have regular monthly meetings.
• 1878: Articles of Incorporation were approved, seven members were elected to Board of Trustees and the name Los Angeles County Medical Association (LACMA) was chosen.
• 1878: H.L. Orme became the first president of LACMA.
• Pre-1900: LACMA took corrective action to improve the general health of Los Angeles County residents. LACMA created a city board of health and a position of city health officer to oversee the public welfare.
• 1903: LACMA, along with the University of Southern California, established a College of Physicians and Surgeons.
• 1913: Dr. Ray Lyman Wilbur proposed a voluntary type of prepayment insurance plan that would be under the auspices of LACMA.
• 1910-1920: As membership grew, so did the population of Los Angeles County. Local LACMA districts, or "branches", were drawn up according to local needs.
• 1918: Four branches existed: Pasadena, Pomona, Long Beach and Santa Monica.
• 1933: LACMA membership approved a Medical Service Plan with provisions for free choice among fee-for-service physicians.
• 1936: LACMA restructured its by-laws to conform to California Medical Association (CMA) requirements.
• 1938: LACMA approved the CMA's California Physicians Service Plan that fulfilled the need for hospital insurance. It basically was a PPO. One month later, CMA approved the prepay plan and the plan's name was changed to Blue Shield of CMA.

• 1950s: Smog became a major concern for LACMA and they led a successful fight to lobby for automobile emission standards.
• 1950-1990: The fact that cigarette smoke kills was introduced to public welfare through 35 separate resolutions spanning 40 years by LACMA member, Dr. Albert Fields.
• 1974: LACMA President William Plested led the successful fight for MICRA legislation all the way to Sacramento.
• 1983: LACMA aligned itself with a non-profit Foundation for Medical Care (LAFMC).
• 1984: LACMA's non-dues revenue exceeded 60 percent. In order to keep non-profit status, LACMA created a for-profit division, LACMA Services inc. (LSI).
• 1985: The IPA component of LAFMC was sold to Cigna Healthcare.
• 1990-2008: Blue Shield eventually split from the CMA and became an independent non-profit organization.
• 2006: LACMA successfully lobbied against a California ballot proposition that would have extended anti-trust exemptions to hospitals.
• 2007: LACMA voted to dissolve LAFMC.
• 2007: LACMA lobbied for the re-establishment of Drew Medical School and the building of a health safety net for the residents in the south Los Angeles corridor.
• 2008: LACMA was successful in seating the Deans from USC’s Keck School of Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, and Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science on its Board of Directors.

• 2009: LACMA successfully wrote resolutions and testified in support of the re-opening of Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital which is scheduled to re-open in 2013.