NAPA COUNTY: New Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan Debuts
"Solano County's successful Medi-Cal HealthPlan has extended into Napa County," the Contra Costa Times reports. The plan, which will begin March 1, is expected to bring better health care access to "10,000 Medi-Cal patients in Napa County." According to Terry Longoria, director of the Napa County Health and Human Services Agency, "the expansion brings access to preventive medical care to an area that has historically had difficulty finding medical providers." The HealthPlan has been operating for five years in Solano County, where it has 46,000 members. One of five such plans in the state, it "link[s] its members with a primary care provider, thus reducing the use of emergency rooms for minor care." In addition, it "has also reduced hospital admissions and long hospital stays, and a substance abuse benefit was added for members in Solano County earlier this year." Jack Horn, executive director of the Solano Partnership HealthPlan, said, "We are pleased that the expansion is finally happening in Napa County. We know that this program will benefit both members and providers, as it has in Solano (4/2).
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