Open Letter to Californians

For years, California leaders have made it clear we need a better Medi-Cal system — one that provides access to quality health care with improved engagement and support for local communities.

This year’s historic Medi-Cal procurement was an opportunity to address the shortcomings and inequities in the old system by choosing health plans best positioned to help realize the vision of CalAIM, the state’s initiative that demands health plans be innovative, partner with physicians, and bring Medi-Cal into the digital age.

But that didn’t happen.

Instead, the state intends to choose for-profit health plans with poor track records in improving access to quality care and constructively engaging local communities.

This has implications for people’s lives and the kind of care they deserve, whether it be diabetics who need timely eye exams, pregnant moms who need prenatal and postpartum care, children with asthma who need inhalers, or people who need behavioral health care.

The state’s preliminary decision was made with virtually no input from the people and the communities the Medi-Cal program serves — the voices of hundreds of organizations, community leaders, elected officials, providers, and patients. It was a breach of trust with the very communities whose health and lives depend on Medi-Cal.

Californians deserve better.

And that can happen.

As a nonprofit health plan, Blue Shield of California has a vision to transform our healthcare system so that all Californians have access to care that’s worthy of our family and friends, and sustainably affordable. That commitment is why we are appealing the state’s decision. It’s not too late for California’s leaders to make this right.

Join us in telling the state to reverse this decision and undo the harm it will cause to low-income and underrepresented communities across California.

Paul Markovich President & CEO Blue Shield of California