County Chosen as Pilot Project Site for Medi-Cal/Medicare Integration

Editor's Note: The following news release is from the San Diego County Communications Office.

The details have yet to be worked out, but about 75,000 San Diego County seniors and people with disabilities who are enrolled in both Medi-Cal and Medicare should see more streamlined access to health care and social services through a newly-approved pilot project.   

“San Diego was only one of four California counties selected to be a pilot site by the California Department of Health Care Services,” said San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairman Ron Roberts. “This project should provide a new seamless system of care for our seniors and people with disabilities, especially those with multiple chronic conditions.”

The three-year pilot program will serve people who are eligible for both Medi-Cal and Medicare beginning in 2013. California has approximately 1.1 million people enrolled in both Medicare and Medi-Cal. They are among the state’s highest-need and highest-cost users of health care services, accounting for nearly 25 percent of Medi-Cal spending.

“This new system should achieve substantial savings by moving people out of costly facilities and into homes within the community,” said County Supervisor Dianne Jacob. “The community, health care providers, the state and county are coming together to streamline services for the benefit of our most vulnerable friends and neighbors.”

Los Angeles, Orange and San Mateo were the other three counties selected as pilot sites.

“This new pilot program seeks to integrate health and social services benefits and programs, such as In Home Supportive Services and skilled nursing care, into a single system easier for the consumer to navigate,” said Nick Macchione, Health and Human Services Agency director.

For more information on the pilot program visit www.calduals.org.