Ventura County's Medi-Cal insurance plan replaces CEO with interim leader

Nick Liguori who served more than two years as CEO of the Gold Coast Health Plan has been replaced, officials of the Medi-Cal plan announced Thursday.

The government-funded plan administers Medi-Cal insurance in Ventura County for nearly 250,000 low-income residents and is governed by the Ventura County Medi-Cal Managed Care Commission.

The commission voted unanimously in a closed-door meeting Monday not to renew Liguori’s contract. They announced the decision in a special meeting Wednesday, said Gold Coast spokesperson Susana Enriquez-Euyoque. They also voted unanimously to name the plan’s chief medical officer Dr. Felix Nuñez as interim CEO while a search is conducted for a permanent replacement.

The changes are immediate, Enriquez-Euyoque said.

Laura Espinosa, chair of the commission, said Thursday commissioners hope a new permanent CEO is hired within six months though it could take longer. She said the decision to move on from Liguori was not in any way disciplinary.

“It was not for cause. We just wanted to go in a different direction,” Espinosa said. She cited changes that include a new billing structure and a call center that is operated by Gold Coast and no longer run by a contractor. She said Gold Coast also has plans to ultimately serve Medicare members in addition to people with Medi-Cal.

“We are in the middle of a major transformation,” she said.

Liguori joined the plan in September 2021 as its chief operating officer after more than 20 years of experience at plans that serve people covered by Medicare and Medicaid. He assumed duties as CEO in February 2022. His annual salary was $415,000, Enriquez-Euyoque said.

Nuñez came to Gold Coast in 2022 and became chief medical officer last year. He’s a family physician with nearly three decades of experience in managed care and health care delivery. Before Gold Coast, he was regional medical director in the Inland Empire for Molina Healthcare of California.

“Our primary goal is to ensure that GCHP continues to operate smoothly during this transition and that our members continue to receive the exceptional care they deserve,” Nuñez said in a news release.

Nuñez's salary of $410,856 is unchanged by his new responsibilities, Enriquez-Euyoque said.

Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com .

SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: To see more stories like this, subscribe .

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura County's Medi-Cal insurance plan replaces CEO with interim leader