A 3 percent increase in Medi-Cal funding in the governor's budget proposal may be enough to give the Health Plan of San Mateo the wiggle room it needs to stay financially solvent and continue to serve 43,000 low-income residents.
San Mateo County Supervisor Mike Nevin called for a special meeting of the San Mateo County Health Commission, which governs the Health Plan of San Mateo, to discuss his proposal for resolving the ongoing financial crisis that recently plagued the HMO and the San Mateo County Medical Center.
In March, the San Mateo County Medical Center gave notice that it would no longer contract with HPSM for its Medi-Cal agreements. By withdrawing, the medical center hoped to become eligible for additional federal funding. Without the medical center's membership, however, HPSM would lose provider access funding essential to the HMO's survival.
If approved by the commission, Nevin hopes his plan would allow the medical center to keep its contract with HPSM for another year and both agencies would continue to work together in their efforts to secure a more beneficial funding arrangement. Under the plan, $2 million of the funds generated by the state's rate increase would be added to the $1.4 million HPSM has already given the medical center to help subsidize its debt. In return, the medical center would, with additional state assistance, be able to maintain its contract with the Health Plan, preserving provider access funds that the plan depends on to survive.
The San Mateo County Health Commission will vote on the proposal at its meeting today.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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