Sonoma County Supervisors Vote To End Program That Helps Medi-Cal Beneficiaries Find Physicians
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors yesterday approved a plan to end by June 30 a program that helps low-income county residents find physicians who will treat them, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports. Partners for Health helps Medi-Cal beneficiaries find physicians in the county who will accept them and streamlines the reimbursement process for physicians. Federal grants administered by the Department of Health Services funded the $1.5 million program, but the department has decided to cancel Partners for Health because Gov. Gray Davis (D) eliminated funds for the program in his fiscal year 2003-2004 budget proposal. Two-thirds of physicians in Sonoma County do not accept Medi-Cal beneficiaries, and without Partners for Health, "even more doctors could turn Medi-Cal patients away," Mark Kostielney, director of the county Department of Health Services, said (Soper, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 4/2).
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