Ventura County gets $30 million in healthcare grants

Ventura County families with modest incomes and no health coverage will soon have an affordable option thanks to a multiyear, $30-million infusion to the county’s Health Care Agency, officials said Friday.

An extra $10 million in federal funds for each of the next three years will provide healthcare services for an additional 12,000 patients at county clinics, said Michael Powers, agency director.

Targeted are residents who earn too much money to qualify for other government programs but are not insured through work, Powers said. A family of four making about $50,000 would be eligible, he said.

The grants, announced by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office this week, represent a significant expansion of services by the Health Care Agency, Powers said. Ventura County was one of 10 counties selected, out of 17 applicants, to receive $540 million in new federal funds.

“We were hopeful,” Powers said. “We already have a clinic system and two hospitals, so we are pretty uniquely positioned to do it.”

The funds were awarded to counties that will test innovative ways to deliver affordable healthcare to families. Qualified families will receive a full range of medical services, choosing a “medical home” from among 11 clinics spread around the county.

Emphasis will be on primary and preventive care to avoid sending patients to costly emergency rooms and hospitals, Powers said.

Families will be charged small fees per visit and possibly an enrollment fee. Eligibility will be reviewed annually, according to the county coverage plan, called Access Coverage Enrollment.

Grant awards must be approved by federal health officials before services can begin, probably by September, Powers said. The county Board of Supervisors also must vote to accept the money at an upcoming session.

Supervisor Peter Foy has previously expressed doubts about whether the county should be in the healthcare business. Foy especially has been critical of the county’s recent acquisition of a second public hospital in Santa Paula, questioning whether it can afford the debt. On Friday, though, he welcomed the federal funding -- but only if it is used to help those who fall between the cracks of a patchwork healthcare system, he said.

“I want to make sure it’s truly for those who are needy and not for someone who just didn’t take healthcare at work,” Foy said. “It’s a personal responsibility issue. You shouldn’t make an $800 car payment and then expect all of us to pay for your healthcare.”

Supervisors John Flynn and Kathy Long, whose districts include most of the county’s low-income cities, said the funding will help keep families healthy and out of emergency rooms.

“It will assist in our effort to try to cover everyone, especially children,” said Flynn of Oxnard. “It’s going to help people all over Ventura County.”

Long said she yelped with joy upon hearing that the county had been selected. She said every extra dollar would help residents who are struggling each month just to pay the bills.

“We try always to provide more access, and I think that is being recognized by the state,” Long said. “I look at it as a thank-you from the state for doing a good job.”

Illegal immigrants are not eligible for the program because it is being funded with federal dollars. But they still have access to emergency care at hospitals, where by law they cannot be turned away.

“We are not immigration officers,” Long said. “They get care usually when they show up in an emergency situation, when the cost is the greatest.”

catherine.saillant@latimes.com