Community Health Group is San Diego county’s only locally based Medi-Cal health plan and serves 36 percent of the area’s Medi-Cal recipients, the most of any plan operating in the region. A recent decision by the California Department of Health Care Services would eliminate the ability of San Diego’s largest Medi-Cal health plan to serve the region. This would result in disrupting Medi-Cal services for 335,000 low-income San Diegans in January 2024 if the state does not renew CHG.
The state announced in August it was restructuring its managed care plans for Medi-Cal providers and went from seven to three providers, awarding Molina Healthcare, Health Net, and Kaiser Permanente.
A crowd of more than 70 residents, health care professionals, and Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas held a press conference on Sept. 29, to speak out against the state’s proposal, which affects the entire county.
“Our neighbors trust Community Health Group and we will fight to make sure they can keep serving the most vulnerable,” said Salas in a press release. “They are based here in our community and employ people in our community. They keep our economy strong and our people healthy. If the state does not add them back as a health plan it will increase inequities and worsen health outcomes in our communities.”
CHG COO Joseph Garcia said 99% of its business is Medi-Cal programs, so if the state does not allow it to operate, it would have to look for other opportunities to serve between now and January 2024.
La Maestra Community Health Centers President and CEO Dr. Zara Marselian said CHG is the largest health plan that serves Medi-Cal in San Diego with around 335,000 members, and if they are not selected and go away, 335,000 patients will have to transfer to another health plan.
