California HMO pioneer Howard Davis dies

Howard Davis, a leader in the HMO industry in California since the 1960s, has died at age 89.

In the early 1960s, Davis served as an executive for Family Health Plan, which later was acquired by PacifiCare and then became part of UnitedHealth Group. Working with Dr. Robert Gumbiner, he established the first pilot for Medicaid managed care in California, according to his son Jay.

As a consultant, he evaluated HMO grant applications for the federal government.

In 1970, he served as vice president of the California Medical Group Health Plan, which later was acquired by Cigna.

He established Universal Care in 1983. That company now does business as Brand New Day, a familyowned Medicare Advantage specialneeds health plan available in 12 California counties. It was one of the first special-needs plans.

The company focused on serving people with serious mental illness in Orange County. “Most of my father’s career was dedicated to taking care of vulnerable populations,” said Jay Davis, who serves as executive vice president of Brand New Day.

The elder Davis served as CEO of Brand New Day until five years ago, and remained as chairman until his death. All four of his children and two of his nephews are actively involved in company operations.

Davis received the Community Health Services Award by the Black American Political Association of California for his commitment of serving the health needs of the African-American community.