Ventura County’s Medi-Cal Plan to Begin Partnership with OptumRx in 2017
CAMARILLO — Gold Coast Health Plan (GCHP) has finalized its contract with OptumRx to manage the prescription drug benefits for the Plan’s more than 207,000 members.Starting next year, the Minnesota-based company will replace ScriptCare, Ltd., which had managed the benefit since the Plan’s launch in 2011.
“We are honored to have been selected by Gold Coast Health Plan to provide uniquely valuable pharmacy care solutions to their members,” said Mark Thierer, chief executive officer of OptumRx. “With a shared goal of improving the health of members through quality health and pharmacy benefit services, OptumRx will partner with Gold Coast Health Plan to help increase member engagement, improve health outcomes and reduce costs.”
The three-year contract was initially awarded in September near the end of a nine-hour meeting of the Ventura County Medi-Cal Managed Care Commission (VCMMCC), during which the three finalists – OptumRx, MagellanRx and ScriptCare, Ltd. – gave their final presentations. The commission voted 5-4 in favor of OptumRx. The contract was signed after OptumRx agreed to terms that were satisfactory to the VCMMCC.
“We look forward to working with OptumRx to continue providing drugs of the highest quality at the lowest prices possible for our members,” said C. Albert Reeves, MD, the Plan’s chief medical officer. “Our goal is to make the transition as seamless as possible.”
About Gold Coast Health Plan: Gold Coast Health Plan is an independent public entity created by a Ventura County ordinance and authorized through Federal Legislation. GCHP is not a county agency. The county Board of Supervisors approved implementation of a County Organized Health System (COHS) model, transitioning from fee-for-service Medi-Cal to managed care on June 2, 2009. The purpose of GCHP is to serve Medi-Cal beneficiaries, enhance the quality of health care, provide greater access, improve service and provide choice. The Plan provides health benefits to more than 207,000 beneficiaries throughout the county. To learn more about GCHP, visit: www.goldcoasthealthplan.org.
About OptumRx: OptumRx is a pharmacy care services company helping customers and more than 65 million members achieve better health outcomes and lower overall costs through innovative prescription drug benefits management services, including network claims processing, clinical programs, formulary management and specialty pharmacy care. Leveraging expertise, flexible technology and a network of over 67,000 community pharmacies and state-of-the-art home delivery pharmacies, OptumRx is putting patients at the center of the pharmacy experience and making health care more connected and less fragmented – ensuring patients get the right medication at the right time at the best cost. OptumRx is part of Optum, a leading information and technology-enabled health services business dedicated to making the health system work better for everyone. For more information, visit: www.optum.com/optumrx.