Community Care history

In 1986, the network expanded and additional opportunities increased in the Oklahoma City area.

Local physicians, government, and private organizations came together in 1987 to create Community Health Care (CHC) as a private, non-profit organization focused on meeting the needs of the underserved.

With the success of the Wilson County Health Plan, KBR approached the Foundation, ORHCC and DMA in 1989 to gauge interest in expanding the medical home model to additional North Carolina counties.

In 1990, Mercy Health Center in Oklahoma City became interested in ownership of the CompMed Oklahoma City network and negotiated a contract.

With the successful launch of Carolina Access, DMA (with support from the North Carolina General Assembly and the Health Care Financing Administration) began to expand Carolina Access statewide in 1992.

In 1993, healthcare reform came into the national spotlight.

As the policies and procedures for CommunityCare HMO were developed, it began to make good business sense to merge Saint Francis' HealthFirst PPO with St John's CompMed. As a result of the merger, Preferred CommunityChoice PPO became operational in April 1994.

Dick Bushaw, a long time Tulsa resident and our first member, signed up on July 1, 1996, his 65th birthday.

In 1997 CommunityCare introduced a series of ads using a "tree and roots" theme.

In early 1998, the Secretary asked all Carolina Access practices with at least 2,000 enrollees (36 practices) to indicate their interest in partnering with the State.

In 2000, CommunityCare began offering CommunityCare Life and Health Insurance Company PPO Plan, a PPO product for employers with 50 or more employees (now also available to small groups), that utilizes the Preferred CommunityChoice network.

January 2001 marked the beginning of a new administration for North Carolina and DHHS, as incoming Governor Mike Easley appointed Carmen Hooker Odom Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Senior Health Plan celebrated the 20,000th member in July 2002.

The Family Medical Care group and Hillcrest HealthCare System joined the network of providers in the Tulsa area in 2003.

Central Health (formerly the Travis County Healthcare District) was founded in 2004 as a limited-purpose taxing district.

CommunityCare HealthShare HRA was introduced in 2005.

CommunityCare began offering a PPO plan for small employer groups in 2006.

In late 2007 a decision was made to gradually transfer much of the responsibility of additional CCNC program development and support from the state to the new central not-or-profit organization representing all 14 CCNC networks.

It was in the year 2008 that 1,080 CHCs gave primary health care to a population of more than 17.1 million people.

In 2009, the Community Health Center system became a private, non-profit corporation named CommUnityCare.

In 2010, CommUnityCare was accredited by The Joint Commission, which recognizes quality healthcare institutions around the world.

As of May 2011, 14 CCNC networks cover all 100 counties in the state, serving more than one million enrollees (1,000,024 Medicaid recipients and 70,000 low-income uninsured residents through the HealthNet Program).

In 2013, CommunityCare began offering individual plans through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace and small group plans through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace.

In 2014, CommunityCare created a new company, CommunityCare Government Programs.

A report issued in 2015 by the North Carolina State Auditor estimated CCNC savings at 9 percent, working out to approximately a 3-1 net return on investment in CCNC for the Medicaid program.

In 2016, Hearst Health and the Jefferson College of Population Health of Thomas Jefferson University, named CCNC the winner of the inaugural Hearst Health Prize, a $100,000 award given in recognition of outstanding achievement in managing or improving health.

In the fall of 2017, CommunityCare worked with a creative firm to develop a new logo for the organization.

In 2018, CommunityCare celebrated 25 years as an organization.

In January 2020 Doctor Dobson, CCNC’s founding president & CEO, retired and Tom Wroth, M.D., MPH was appointed by CCNC's Board of Directors to replace him.

In 2021, CommunityCare collaborated with INTEGRIS Health to create INTEGRIS Health Partners+, an innovative Medicare Advantage plan partnering Oklahoma’s largest not-for-profit health system with an integrated, high-quality physician network to serve the Oklahoma City metro area.