State Gives Nod to Ventura County’s Medi-Cal Revamp

On Thursday, the California Department of Health Care Services gave approval to Ventura County's plan to transform its Medi-Cal program into a managed care system. Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program. Under the new system -- called Gold Coast Health Plan -- patients will choose or be assigned a primary care physician who will coordinate their care. Gold Coast Health Plan CEO Earl Greenia said the program will be funded with about $300 million annually in federal and state money.

• "New Medi-Cal System Gets State OK" (Kisken, Ventura County Star, 5/12).