Newsom proposal to bring health equity to Central Coast
In response to last week’s announcement and 2022-23 budget proposal from California State Governor Gavin Newsom, community-based health plan CenCal Health made the following statement:
“CenCal Health welcomes Governor Newsom’s health care expansion plan for California and is ready to support Medi-Cal coverage for eligible residents in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties – regardless of their immigration status,” said Marina Owen, CenCal Health CEO.
“Along with our Board of Directors, executive team and staff, I am gratified that our organization here on the Central Coast can help bring much-needed, long overdue health coverage to the region, and take this step towards health equity. In partnership with our network of dedicated doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and other providers, CenCal Health is ready to deliver high-quality health care to all.” If the new budget plan is supported by the legislature, coverage would begin on Jan. 1, 2024.
“Beginning May 1 of this year, CenCal Health will offer health coverage to undocumented residents age 50 and older that are eligible for Medi-Cal. Since 2020, CenCal Health has provided local health coverage to all eligible children and young people under the age of 26 including those not documented. In addition, our organization has already been hard at work on the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal program called CalAIM. CalAIM is the far-reaching, multi-year plan to transform Medi-Cal; it is the state’s largest overhaul of how Medi-Cal services are delivered since the implementation of managed care in the late 1970’s.”
Details on the California Governor’s plan to be the “first state in the nation to offer universal access to healthcare coverage” can be found in The California Blueprint.
“From COVID-19, we have certainly witnessed that the state of our communities’ health includes all of us, the whole population. With this support from Sacramento, CenCal Health can continue to improve the health and wellness of our diverse communities, advancing health equity now and into the future.”
About CenCal Health
CenCal Health is a community-accountable health plan that partners with over 1,500 local physicians, hospitals and other providers in delivering patient care to over 210,000 members – about one in four residents of Santa Barbara County and one in five residents of San Luis Obispo County. A public agency, the health plan contributes approximately $50 million a month into the local economy, primarily through payments to healthcare providers who serve its membership. Established in 1983, it is the oldest managed care Medicaid plan of its kind in the nation. View its annual Community Report at cencal2020.org
Media Contact: Sheri Mobley (805) 845-5627, 213 509-9816 sheri@seamlesspr.com
Leave a Response