Gold Coast Health Plan Distributes $2M to Secure Medi-Cal Coverage

The Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability & Equity (RISE) Grant Program is now in its second year, bringing the organization's total community investment to $13 million. Dr. Felix Nuñez, chief executive officer of GCHP, noted that the initiative focuses on minimizing coverage disruptions by equipping local providers with the necessary resources to navigate upcoming Medicaid changes. The selected recipients include the Ventura County Health Care Agency, Community Memorial Health System, and the Mixteco Indígena Community Organizing Project, among others.

These groups will deploy specialized outreach, including AI-assisted tools and field-based enrollment counseling, to reach individuals experiencing homelessness, serious mental illness, or language barriers. By integrating renewal screenings directly into clinical visits and community sites, the program seeks to ensure that no member loses coverage due to administrative hurdles. Erik Cho, GCHP’s chief of staff and strategy, emphasized that leveraging these existing community relationships is vital to keeping Medi-Cal a functional lifeline for the 220,000 members across Ventura County.