Tug-Of-War Over Power Structure Of Health Board Pits Legislature Against Orange County
The CalOptima board – which is made up by county supervisors, and appointed members of the public and medical industry – wields power by controlling which physician networks patients can use, decisions that steer billions of public dollars in the process.
Orange County Register:
The Fight Over Orange County’s $3.4 Billion Healthcare Plan Could Be About Money, Local Control Or Revenge
The California legislature and the Orange County Board of Supervisors are embroiled in a tug-of-war over who will oversee the county’s $3.4 billion public healthcare plan for its low-income, disabled and elderly residents, who account for one-quarter of the county’s population. The county says the battle for authority over who sits on the CalOptima board is about increasing government oversight of the health plan and preventing the state from wresting away local control through a Senate bill. (Graham, 7/13)