LOS ANGELES (July 3, 2023) — Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan has made a community investment in Bienestar Human Services, enabling the nonprofit agency to train and certify six new staff as HIV testers and counselors and to certify two new substance abuse disorder (SUD) counselors.  

“The financial support we have received for an expanded staff has been a game changer for us. For the first time in our 33-year history, because we have more certified testers and counselors, we can offer walk-in HIV testing to serve thousands of individuals in all six of our locations,” said Robert Contreras, CEO of Bienestar.   Bienestar is committed to improving health, equality, and justice for Latinx, LGBTQ+, and other underserved communities 

According to the Los Angeles Commission on HIV, of approximately 52,000 people living with diagnosed HIV in Los Angeles County, 46% are Latinx. Accessible HIV testing focused on serving the Spanish-speaking LGBT community is an integral part of connecting people living with HIV to treatment so they can live healthier lives and prevent continued transmission.  

“Improving health equity and reducing health disparities in our communities is a priority for Blue Shield Promise,” said Valerie Martinez, chief health equity officer of the health plan.  “With this investment, we can help Bienestar continue to build its workforce with the cultural competency they need for the populations they serve. We want to ensure that members in Bienestar’s communities who are disproportionately impacted by HIV and SUD have a fair opportunity to be as healthy as possible.” 

Bienestar provides HIV testing and SUD treatment at no cost, with  a peer-led approach to serving the Latino LGBTQ+ community, and other communities of color in Los Angeles. Services are provided at six centers located across Los Angeles County, from San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. Access to services has often been constrained by training and certification barriers, such as months-long wait lists for HIV counselor training by local government certification programs, and high training costs for individual SUD counselor certifications. 

Bienestar Human Services was founded in 1989 as a direct response to the HIV crisis in Los Angeles County and the barriers to health care that Latinx that LGBTQ+ people faced. “This historic expansion of services because of Blue Shield Promise’s funding has helped us reach a long-awaited goal and is an essential step in the nationwide “End the Epidemic” campaign, a five-year federal initiative aiming to end the HIV epidemic through a combination of diagnosis and treatment,” said Contreras.

About Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan 
Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan is a managed care organization, wholly owned by Blue Shield of California, offering Medi-Cal. It is led by healthcare professionals with a “members-first” philosophy and committed to building a quality network of providers and partnering with community organizations for more than 510,000 members across Los Angeles and San Diego counties. For more information about Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan, please visit www.blueshieldca.com/promise. For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit www.news.blueshieldca.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.