CalOptima reinstates four safety-net hospitals to Medi-Cal program

CalOptima reinstates four safety-net hospitals to Medi-Cal program

SANTA ANA, CA — The CalOptima Board of Directors voted Thursday to reinstate four Northern Orange County acute care hospitals to the Medi-Cal program after losing millions of dollars of revenue serving thousands of impoverished residents.

Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen has led the fight for two years to reinstate the hospitals citing the risk that they were becoming financially unstable and could possibly close. She also authored a measure before the Board of Supervisors to force CalOptima to reinstate the hospitals. The item was tabled as CalOptima worked through the process.

“This year I was appointed to the CalOptima Board and it was my primary goal to ensure patient access to healthcare,” Supervisor Janet Nugyen said. “No business can survive without getting paid, but this was happening to a group of  hospitals in and around my district. I’m thankful that my fellow Board members helped me push this over the finish line.”

The hospitals, all owned by Prime Healthcare, are Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center; Huntington Beach Hospital; La Palma Intercommunity Hospital; and West Anaheim Medical Center.

“CalOptima needs procedures in place to avoid unnecessarily removing contractors like hospitals and doctors, putting our community at risk. After seeing this trend of having our medical professionals knocked out, I’m working with staff to determine clear, transparent guidelines.

“This week we had another incident where a doctor was removed from network without written proof of wrongdoing and I successfully pushed for his reinstatement,” Supervisor Janet Nguyen said.  

###

Supervisor Janet Nguyen represents the First District of Orange County Board of Supervisors, which is the cities of Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Westminster and the unincorporated areas of Midway City and Rossmoor. Supervisor Nguyen  served in the California State Senate, California State Assembly and as Orange County Supervisor and Garden Grove City Councilmember.