COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

County Counsel

DATE:

June 7, 2006

BOARD MEETING DATE:

June 27, 2006

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

No

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

County Counsel

SUBJECT:

County Employees’ Service as (1) Executive Director for the Health Plan of San Mateo, and (2) Member Services and Outreach Director of Health Plan of San Mateo

RECOMMENDATION:

1) Adopt a resolution authorizing:

(a) the execution of an agreement between the County of San Mateo and the Health Plan of San Mateo for a County employee to serve as Executive Director; and

(b) the execution of a First Amendment to the agreement between the County of San Mateo and the Health Plan of San Mateo for a County employee to serve as Medicare Implementation Manager.

2) Adopt an ordinance amending the salary ordinance modifying the compensation of the Executive Director of the Health Plan of San Mateo.

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: The transactions are consistent with the commitments to basic health and safety for all and responsive, effective and collaborative government.

Goal(s): The transactions are based on Goal 5, access to healthcare and preventive care and Goal 22, County and local governments effectively collaborate to develop strategic approaches to issues affecting the entire county.

Performance Measure(s):

Measure

FY 2005-06

Actual

FY 2006-07

Projected

Continuous and uninterrupted leadership of the Health Plan of San Mateo

No gap in leadership at the Health Plan of San Mateo

No gap in leadership at the Health Plan of San Mateo

BACKGROUND:

The Health Plan of San Mateo provides local control over administration of Medi-Cal and other related health services for residents of the County of San Mateo. The Health Plan also administers Healthy Kids (health insurance for all children in county), Healthy Families (health insurance for families whose income exceeds the Medi-Cal eligibility limits), and Health Worx (health insurance for IHSS workers). The Health Plan has recently added the Medicare Advantage program to the list of programs it administers.

The Health Plan of San Mateo’s contract with the State of California requires that the Health Plan have an Executive Director, who reports directly to the Commission. When the long-term Executive Director, announced his retirement effective July 1, 2005, the County and the Health Plan contracted for the services of county employee Maya Altman to serve as an Interim Executive Director.

The addition of the Medicare Advantage program led to a contract for County employee Carolyn Thon to serve as the Health Plan’s Medicare Implementation Manager. This position reports directly to the Executive Director. During the past year, this position has been converted to Member Services and Outreach Director.

DISCUSSION:

The Commission has been very satisfied with Ms. Altman’s service as Interim Executive Director, and on May 10, 2006 decided to appoint her to the permanent position of Executive Director. The Commission and Ms. Altman agreed that the terms of Ms. Altman’s employment and the amount of her compensation would be negotiated following May 10, and that any adjustment would be retroactive to the pay period following her appointment to the permanent position. The Health Commission and Ms. Altman have agreed that Ms. Altman may continue as a County employee, and recommend that the Health Commission and the County continue to contract for Ms. Altman’s services. It is anticipated that during the term of this agreement, the position may be converted to that of Chief Executive Officer. We have prepared a new agreement for Ms. Altman to serve as Executive Director on a permanent basis.

The salary ordinance amendment would modify the compensation for the position of Executive Director of the Health Plan of San Mateo to be comparable with that of Executive Directors of the other MediCal managed care plans. Per the Commission’s direction, the compensation specified in the salary ordinance amendment will be retroactive to May 22, 2006, the start of the pay period following her appointment to the permanent position.

The Executive Director has been very satisfied with Ms. Thon’s performance, and the Health Plan’s implementation of the Medicare Advantage Program has gone smoothly. It is expected that within the next few months, Ms. Thon will retire from County employment and become an employee of the Health Plan. The amendment to the agreement for Ms. Thon’s services simply extends the term of the agreement for an additional sixty days.

The Health Plan will fully reimburse the County for all expenses incurred in connection with Ms. Altman’s employment, including her salary and the same benefits as those received by other County department heads. The Health Plan will also fully reimburse the County for all expenses incurred in connection with Ms. Thon’s employment over the next sixty days.

FISCAL IMPACT:

There is no fiscal impact as the Health Plan will fully continue to reimburse the county for all expenses incurred in connection with Ms. Altman’s and Ms. Thon’s employment.