This year California will devote more than $120 billion to Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid that serves more than one of every three residents.
That means big profits for Managed Care Organizations such as Anthem, Molina and Centene.
We have nothing against profits but a lot against conflicts of interest. Under California law, Medicaid providers are permitted to make political donations to state lawmakers who approve budgets from which those providers profit. We think such donations should be treated as they are in the public pension world, where Wall Street firms who contract with public pension funds can be disqualified if they make political contributions at certain levels to elected officials or candidates for those offices who have a say in pension fund decisions to contract with investment advisors.
Medi-Cal’s objective should be to provide high quality services to residents at reasonable costs to taxpayers, not to unduly enrich providers. Govern For California supports lawmakers who serve the general interest.
