Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/michael-schrader/)
CalOptima, the county’s health care plan for low-income and elderly residents, will now administer its own mental health care services, after the agency voted to phase out its $41 million-a-year contract with Magellan Health.
Orange County has joined a handful of other counties statewide in a demonstration project designed to enhance care for residents eligible for both Medicare and Medi-Cal.
Compliance officer was in charge of making sure medical contractors followed federal and state rules.
CalOptima board indicates some health network contracts could be cancelled if they don’t move quickly to meet federal standards.
The health plan will have until January and maybe longer, to fix glaring problems triggering improper denials of prescriptions and medical procedures for patients. Officials also reported cases of possible fraud.
New Chief Financial Officer Chet Uma will start at the embattled health agency on June 16 with an annually salary of $277,000.
Supervisor Todd Spitzer, in his new role as CalOptima board member, didn’t waste any time last week confronting some of the issues that have dogged the $1.7 billion health plan for low-income residents in recent years.
The health plan took delivery of a $90,391 cashier’s check, but the sender refused to reveal who donated the money.
Patti McFarland, who comes from the Central California Alliance for Health, will earn $274,000.
The health plan’s new chief medical officer is Dr. Richard Helmer. In other actions, the board delayed its response to grand jury criticism.
