state audit<\/a> also was ordered into CalOptima\u2019s stockpiling of $1.2 billion in surplus and reserves \u2014 money that critics said should be spent on providing services. The audit found in 2023 that $675 million in surplus funds should be used to improve services, which CalOptima has done. Yet it still has amassed nearly $1.6 billion, which Hunn notes will help its members survive state and federal cutbacks in Medi-Cal as well as other political hurdles.<\/p>\n\u201cWe are in a very good financial position to weather any cutbacks from the state, any cutbacks from the federal government,\u201d Hunn said. \u201cGiven some of the tensions between Washington, D.C., and the state, if there were ever to be a hiccup in revenues, we\u2019d be able to continue to pay our providers\u201d for a time.<\/p>\n
Cal-Optima also is stepping up virtual doctor visits for members afraid to venture out because of immigration raids.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a real opportunity to stay laser-focused, not getting distracted by all the noise. We need to make sure people get to the doctor,\u201d Hunn said. \u201cI don\u2019t look at it as a tough time. \u2026 If I stay focused on the mission, the beneficiaries of my focus will be our members.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike some executives, Hunn often hits the streets, attending virtually every event sponsored by CalOptima to educate and provide medical services to the public \u2014 including local fairs and back-to-school programs. He said he is planning later this month to help with the effort to physically count homeless people in Orange County.<\/p>\n
In his career as a chief executive for several hospitals, Hunn said he has never hesitated to roll up his sleeves, go to the emergency rooms and even change pillowcases as a way to help during challenging times.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will always go to places where members are being served, in the parks, under the bridges,\u201d said Hunn, a former Catholic priest. \u201cThat\u2019s something, I think, is always important to me. If I as the leader don\u2019t understand who it is I\u2019m serving, than I will never be able to fulfill the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n
A key part of that mission is CalOptima\u2019s street medicine program, in which contracted medical professionals and social workers provide health care to those experiencing homelessness. Some of the workers were previously homeless themselves, Hunn said.<\/p>\n
The program is underway on the streets of Garden Grove, Costa Mesa and Anaheim and is being expanded to Santa Ana and north Orange County.<\/p>\n
During Hunn\u2019s tenure, the board also approved $526 million to enhance rates for Medi-Cal claims by 8% to ease the financial strain on providers and help retain them to serve the disabled or those below the poverty level.<\/p>\n
\u201cMembers and their families, they are counting on us to get things right,\u201d Hunn said. \u201cSo when they reach out, we better be prepared to serve them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Hunn, the chief executive officer of Orange County\u2019s $4 billion health care plan for the poor, said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,405,1280,1071,100,4765,4720,136],"class_list":["post-144064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-government","tag-health-care","tag-local-government","tag-news","tag-orange-county-board-of-supervisors","tag-public-health","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}