Yolo County Medi-Cal enrollees regain access to doctors as Dignity, Partnership ink new deal

Dignity Health announced Monday that it has reached a new contract agreement with Partnership HealthPlan of California, restoring access to doctors for nearly 32,000 Medi-Cal enrollees in Nevada, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Yolo counties.

A prior agreement between the two companies expired Mar. 31, forcing thousands of Northern California residents to establish a relationship with new providers at other companies that contracted with Partnership.

Jonathan Raven, the chair of the Yolo County Local Mental Health Board, has been closely watching the negotiations because Partnership manages Medi-Cal benefits for some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. He sent his appreciation to the Yolo County board of supervisors who vigorously urged both sides to seek a mediator from the state if they could not resolve their issues.

“No other board of supervisors in other impacted counties did what Yolo did,” he said in a statement to The Sacramento Bee. “And the public ensured that their voice was heard, too. Lastly, and most importantly, a huge thank you to Dignity and Partnership. You didn’t give up. I know the issues in these types of negotiations can challenging and complex.”

Dignity, a unit of Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health , operates St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, Woodland Memorial Hospital and a number of medical centers under its Mercy brand. Julie J. Sprengel, the California president of CommonSpirit Health, said the new agreement provides reimbursements that will help the company to provide the care that patients deserve.

“As our communities expand, so do their health care needs,” Sprengel said. “By investing in our hospitals, medical staff and health programs, we ensure that our patients continue to have access to quality care from Dignity Health’s trusted providers. Our patients, and Partnership members, expect and deserve nothing less.”

Sonja Bjork, chief executive officer of Partnership HealthPlan , said that Dignity has long been an important part of Partnership’s network of health care providers serving our vulnerable population.

“The renewed agreement with Dignity Health, a member of CommonSpirit, reflects our shared goal of prioritizing patient care and marks a significant step forward to ensure our members receive the essential medical services they deserve without interruption,” Bjork said.

Fewer than 5% of Partnership Health’s 900,000-plus members were affected by the prior contract’s termination, Bjork told The Bee in an April interview.

These are the numbers affected and where they live, she said: 16,154 in Yolo County, 921 in Nevada County, 3,959 in Shasta County, 1,766 in Siskiyou County and 8,827 in Tehama County.

Many other members were able to keep their doctors because they had illnesses that qualified for state-mandated continuity of care for at least a year.

Partnership members can now access Medi-Cal primary, specialty, and hospital care services from Dignity Health providers and facilities in Nevada, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Yolo counties. If members have questions about how to be reassigned to a Dignity provider, they can call (800) 863-4155.