CAMARILLO — Gold Coast Health Plan (GCHP) was recognized this month by its state regulatory agency for the strides it has made in improving health care quality for Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
The Managed Care Quality and Monitoring Division of the state Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) awarded GCHP the 2018 Overall Most Improved Award. The award is given to the managed care plan with the most significant improvement from the prior year based on its performance across all measures for which DHCS holds plans to minimum performance levels.
GCHP showed improvement in 80 percent of the quality measures it reports to the state, moving to 31st place from 50th place in the agency’s ranking of the 53 health plans that have Medi-Cal managed care lines of business in California. Among the 41 measures that GCHP reports to the state, the Plan had the most improvement in diabetes care, controlling blood pressure, immunizations for children and adolescents, and counseling for nutrition and physical activity.
“To move up 19 places is a remarkable achievement,” said Dr. Nancy Wharfield, GCHP’s chief medical officer. “We are proud of the efforts of our quality team and provider community to improve the health of our members. What we are doing to proactively address the obesity epidemic in children and to help our members who have diabetes and high blood pressure lead healthier lives is working – and that’s our biggest reward.”
The quality awards, which were announced earlier this month at the division’s quarterly medical director’s meeting, are intended to highlight managed care plans that have excelled in improving health care quality for managed care beneficiaries.
The Managed Care Quality and Monitoring Division is responsible for the monitoring and oversight of all Medi-Cal managed care health plans. Performance monitoring helps the division create appropriate policies for improving the health of beneficiaries and to ensure access to high quality health care for all health plan members.
About Gold Coast Health Plan: Gold Coast Health Plan proudly serves nearly 200,000 Medi-Cal beneficiaries in Ventura County through its network of primary care physicians, specialists, behavioral health providers, hospitals, and pharmacies. Since it was founded in 2011, Gold Coast Health Plan has been committed to providing access to high-quality care and improving the health of its members, which include 1 in 5 county residents, 1 in 8 seniors, and 1 in 2 children up to the age of 5. To learn more, visit: www.goldcoasthealthplan.org.