Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/caloptima-board-of-directors/)
Medical field teams will treat homeless people living on the streets after a federal judge pressured CalOptima — the county insurance plan for the poor and elderly — which also last week earmarked $100 million to homeless services.
County Supervisor and CalOptima Director Andrew Do is criticizing the county health insurance agency for the poor and elderly for being too slow in implementing medical teams that will treat homeless people on the streets, just as CalOptima is being asked to appear in a federal court hearing over homeless policies next month.
Homeless people now will be visited and treated by medical teams on the streets after the CalOptima Board of Directors unanimously voted to immediately begin the program throughout Orange County.
Officials at CalOptima, Orange County’s health plan for the low income and elderly, are considering plans to use the property surrounding the agency’s headquarters to build a mixed-use development that includes affordable housing and permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals.
CalOptima provides health care for nearly 800,000 disabled, elderly and low-income Orange County residents. County supervisors are moving to expand their power on its board of directors, but state legislators are moving to block that effort.
The Orange County Taxpayers Association, backed by the medical industry, teamed with state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) to block a move led by Supervisor Andrew Do to have the supervisors take over the $3.4 billion CalOptima health plan for low income, disabled and elderly OC residents.
Fifteen finalists were chosen this week for the seven open seats on the CalOptima board of directors with the medical industry and political insiders dominating the list.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors this week again delayed adding a “public” representative to the board of directors of CalOptima, the health plan for low-income elderly and disabled residents.
CalOptima board indicates some health network contracts could be cancelled if they don’t move quickly to meet federal standards.
In sometimes unusually candid discussions during a strategic planning workshop, board members said the work is overwhelming and they’ve received little or no training.