re·sil·ience
/rəˈzilyəns/
noun
1. The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
2. The ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape.
MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
OUR MISSION
To improve the health and well-being of the community we serve by providing access to high quality health services, along with education and outreach, for our membership.
OUR VISION
To be a nationally recognized model for publicly sponsored health care plans, facilitating excellence in care, service and efficiency, and be valued as a community resource.
SUPPORTING OUR MEMBERS
"Baby Cal" Helps New Moms Get Needed Care
An estimated 40% of women enrolled in Medi-Cal do not get timely postpartum care after having a baby. Missing medical follow-up after giving birth, can lead to very serious health issues. To help encourage new moms to attend their postpartum visit, CenCal Health created a health education resource, affectionately called “Baby Cal.” Watch this short video to learn how Baby Cal encourages our new moms to get timely postpartum care.
COVID Information Everywhere; What Can Members Trust?
Upon the Governor’s State of Emergency declaration on March 4, 2020, CenCal Health knew members would be seeking accurate, reliable information. With a member newsletter in process, we stopped the presses and created an eight-page, bilingual COVID-19 FAQ sheet which included coronavirus facts and prevention guidance. It is revised as COVID-19 information evolves, posted on our website and included in every new member packet. This is one of four communication pieces to win a PRSA-LA 2020 PRism award.
Health Education: Now You “Know More"
CenCal Health has been working diligently to create engaging health education videos to help our members with key aspects of health—areas that have been identified as high priority for our members’ needs. During 2020, we expanded our award-winning “Know More:” series with new videos on the importance of HPV vaccination (Know More: HPV), testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (Know More: STIs), and helping teens stop vaping (Know More: Vaping). Check out the full videos on our “Know More” Youtube playlist.
Staying Active While Staying Safe
Quarantine, shelter-in-place, social distancing…COVID-19 prevention caused a host of indirect health problems for many people, especially those with existing chronic conditions. CenCal Health’s “Walk and Roll Challenge” is one example of how we worked to support these members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch this short video to learn how CenCal Health encouraged a vulnerable population to get outside and get active—while still staying COVID-conscious!
High-Risk Members Get Help Through “Stay Home. Save Lives. Check In.”
Anxiety. Isolation. Depression. Now compound these with food and housing insecurity, abuse, or neglect. The challenges of COVID-19 impacted Medi-Cal members especially hard. Eager to help the most vulnerable members, CenCal Health’s Case Management team launched an emergency response: “Stay Home. Save Lives. Check In.” The campaign targeted members especially high-risk due to age, or other high-risk or chronic health conditions.
During the initial outreach call, members discussed their particular anxieties and challenges then received personalized support— and if necessary, ongoing case management— based on their needs. As of November, more than 2,000 members have benefitted from the follow-up support.
IT, Member Services Unleash the Power of Trending Data to Improve Service
In 2020, CenCal Health’s IT and Member Services departments created a new, custom call tracking system that assigns a unique tracking ID to every caller’s call. This allows the tracking and trending of “like” calls, offering quality improvement opportunities by service area, complaint and even member demographics. If, for example, a trend is detected about confusion over a new benefit, corrective actions can be implemented quickly, like improving materials, updating the website, or launching an outbound call campaign.
Disease Management Helps High-Risk Members Mask Up
As COVID-19 began a second wave in October, Disease Management staff identified 493 high-risk members particularly at risk for adverse outcomes. These members received reusable cloth masks, along with education about proper use and care. Materials included in the mask mailing focused on avoiding coronavirus infection and stressing the still-best practices of the three W’s: Wear a mask, watch your distance, and wash your hands often. This year, facts matter more than ever.
SUPPORTING OUR PROVIDERS
CenCal Health Among First Health Plans in Nation to Provide PPE to Providers
COVID-19’s impact on New York City’s hospitals alerted the nation to looming shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) as hospitals throughout the country scrambled to secure gowns, masks and gloves. CenCal Health immediately purchased more than $250,000 of gear. By the beginning of April, CenCal health was distributing gowns, masks, and gloves to our area hospitals, a public health department, Federally-Qualified Health Centers, and other high-risk network providers.
Pulse Oximeters Distributed in Response to Requests
Early in the pandemic, pneumonia was identified as a critical complication of COVID-19. Physicians found that the earlier pneumonia could be diagnosed in these patients, the better the outcomes. However, experience in other states found that many patients didn’t realize that they had pneumonia.
A pulse oximeter, a fingertip device that can be used at home, emerged as an inexpensive tool that helps detect pneumonia at home by showing the patient their blood oxygen saturation level.
CenCal Health procured 2,000 FDA-approved pulse oximeters for distribution through physicians and hospitals directly with COVID-19 positive patients.
Provider Partnerships Deliver a Return-to-Care Message
The adverse healthcare and financial impacts caused by COVID-19 prompted CenCal Health to produce public service announcements (PSAs) called “Welcome Back to Care.” This bilingual campaign reminds the public of the importance of ongoing preventive care and addresses the fear that keeps people away from their physicians.
Other than using a vendor to film, all development aspects of the campaign were performed in-house, including securing a distinguished list of local healthcare leaders and organizations to speak.
The following video is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the “Welcome Back to Care” commercials (PSAs).
CenCal Health Nominates Local Non-Profit for National Award
Nominated by CenCal Health, Doctors Without Walls/Santa Barbara Street Medicine received an honorable mention from The Association for Community Affiliated Plans at its 15th annual Supporting the Safety Net Award program, held in June 2020.
Doctors Without Walls/Santa Barbara Street Medicine serves Santa Barbara County’s homeless populations in the most austere environments like encampments and agriculture fields. But beyond providing immediate medical attention, the goal is to also address the social needs of all patients. Learn more at sbdww.org.
Top Performer Awards Recognize New and Repeat Winners
Through the Primary Care Providers (PCP) Incentive Top Performer Awards, CenCal Health annually recognizes the dedicated service of local network providers. The awards acknowledge PCPs across both counties who provide high-quality healthcare and control utilization costs for assigned patients from the health plan’s Medi-Cal membership. There are four award categories: Pediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine, and Federally-Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). The awards are based on 2019 performance scores with results announced in 2020.
To learn more about this year’s winners, click here.
SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY
CenCal Health, Providers to Patients: Welcome Back to Care
Measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus made accessing health care services difficult for many people. As a result, child immunization rates in California plummeted by 40%, along with preventive care, due to patients’ fears of contagion.
Concerned that this could result in another public health emergency, CenCal Health developed “Welcome Back to Care” - a bilingual campaign designed to educate and persuade Central Coast residents to return to regular medical care.
Who Is CenCal Health?
“Who is CenCal Health?”
We hear this question all the time, even in our own community.
We are a health plan, but we have only one line of business. We are a business, but we make no profit. We are a public agency, but if we don’t do our job well, we can go away. We have nearly 200,000 members, but people cannot purchase our product. We serve one in four residents of Santa Barbara County, and one in five residents of San Luis Obispo County. And while we’ll work with anyone, we compete with no one.
The best description may be the shortest: CenCal Health is the best health plan you’ve never heard of.
Coalition Provides Meals for Homeless as Community Sources Disappear
The Santa Barbara Alliance for Community Transformation (SB ACT), in collaboration with Doctors Without Walls - Santa Barbara Street Medicine, CenCal Health, Women’s Fund, and private donors launched a “brown bag’” project to provide non-perishable foods to the unsheltered, transitory homeless population who experienced a food shortage exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the shelter-at-home order. This program has provided about 7,200 bags of food, each providing a two- to three-day food supply.
Senior Meal Donations Feed More Than Ever in 2020
The need for senior meals skyrocketed in March, as this vulnerable population sheltered at home. Our counties’ two senior meals programs, Meals That Connect in San Luis Obispo County and CommUnify in Santa Barbara County saw increases in demand by as much as 40%. Both organizations scrambled to find safe ways to meet this demand. CenCal Health donates a total of $400,000 each year to these two organizations, recognizing that for seniors, #FoodIsMedicine.
COVID-19 and Voting Dominate Social Media Communications
From the start of the pandemic, CenCal Health enhanced our social media platforms by focusing posts on COVID-19 topics, health information, operational updates, and key community resources such as food pantries. COVID-19-focused content included a ten-year-old demonstrating how to construct a cloth face covering; debunking COVID-19 myths; videos that illustrate proper handwashing technique using shaving cream; positive messages to members from our staff; and more.
CenCal Health Joins Local Campaign to Promote Masks
In October, CenCal Health joined organizations including Sansum Clinic, Cottage Health, Santa Barbara County Education Office, and others to deliver a simple message: Wear a mask. “Masked and Mighty” is a multi-faceted publicity campaign for the community, to remind everyone that masks are key in stemming the spread of COVID-19.
Some of the campaign’s prominent bilingual components, including public service videos and print ads, used CenCal Health staff discussing whom they protect by masking up. Also part of the campaign was “Powering Up” buildings across Santa Barbara (including the organization’s Calle Real headquarters) as a reminder: We have the power to stop COVID-19…together.
To learn more, visit maskedandmighty.org.
VOICE OF OUR MEMBERS
"I want to thank all of you for your service and your work. We appreciate everything you are doing to help me and so many others. We love you all and we all will get through this together."
-Ameenah Nadir, CenCal Health Member, Santa Barbara County
OUR LEADERSHIP
CenCal Health’s executive leadership includes Robert Freeman, Chief Executive Officer; Paul Jaconette, Chief Operating Officer; David Ambrose, Chief Financial Officer; Bill Cioffi, Chief Information Officer; Dr. Farid Hassanpour, Chief Medical Officer; and Karen Kim, General Legal Counsel.
CenCal Health’s executive leadership guides a team of 15, including a deputy CMO and 14 directors. Additions to the director team in 2020 included Gary Ashburn, Director of Claims; Kelly Adler Schueler, Director of Medical Management; and Carl Breining, Corporate Compliance & Privacy Officer. Learn more.
OUR FINANCIALS
COVID-19 had a significant, adverse impact on health care finances, both locally and at the state level in 2020. At the state level, California’s budget went from a projected multi-billion dollar surplus to a $55 billion deficit. This triggered 1.5% revenue reductions for Medi-Cal Managed Care plans, including CenCal Health - retroactive to July 2019. Furthermore, the state plans to implement additional revenue reductions to Medi-Cal plans in FY 20/21.
CenCal Health absorbed these reductions without negatively affecting provider reimbursement levels. CenCal Health is grateful to our provider partners who worked with us as we navigated through this time of revenue reductions.
CenCal Health has always run a tight ship in relation to administrative overhead. Administrative expenses are kept in the vicinity of 6% - sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower. Therefore, while other local employers were laying off staff, CenCal Health had no wholesale layoffs; and very few furloughs were necessary. Furthermore, reductions generated in relation to printing costs, travel, office supplies, etc., resulted in additional savings. Finally, CenCal Health has always had a strong incentive to build up a robust reserve or “rainy day fund.”
“We have always known during good times that bad times would come back at some point,” said CEO Bob Freeman. “And we needed to be as prepared as possible.
There were financial “losses” due to paying rent on an empty building – an empty building but safer employees. CenCal Health owns the other, much larger building, so there was no negative impact by having a nearly empty headquarters.
To cover real and anticipated losses this fiscal year, CenCal Health will tap into the organization’s reserves by approximately $11 million. “That is a big number, but one that we are more than prepared to absorb,” continued Freeman. “Covid-19 is the type of rainy day we’ve been preparing for these past several years.”
This year unlike any other, long range planning, strong leadership and sound fiscal policies ensured a stable organizational environment that prevented a disruption of services to members, providers, or staff. Even though COVID-19 continues to disrupt lives, CenCal Health remains well prepared to continue to fulfill its mission successfully.
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CenCal Health is governed by a 13-member Board of Directors, appointed by the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties’ Boards of Supervisors. The CenCal Health Board includes representatives from local government and county representatives, which have no term limits. Other positions include physicians, hospital administrators, and representatives from the business community and membership, many of whom have served our organization for many years. In 2020, Dr. Rene Bravo, a network pediatrician from San Luis Obispo, chaired the Board meetings, nearly all of which were held remotely.
