Program Targets Super-Users of Health Care To Lower Costs, Increase Quality

In a California Healthline report by Tara Siler, experts discussed the state’s effort to handle super-utilizers of Medi-Cal services. One estimate says just 5% of patients use up 60% of the cost of health care services. By coordinating care in a better way for these patients in Medi-Cal, the state hopes to improve care quality and save money at the same time, in part by reducing emergency department visits and hospital admissions.

The report includes comments from:

• Elizabeth Davis, medical director of care coordination at San Francisco General Hospital’s San Francisco Health Network Primary Care;
• Hannah Katch, assistant deputy director for health care delivery, California Department of Health Care Services;
• Marty Lynch, executive director of LifeLong Medical Care, Berkeley; and
• Bertha Swan, daughter of San Francisco General Hospital patient Aroytemise Swan, San Francisco (Siler, California Healthline, 06/10/15).

You can download a PDF of this report.