Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Coordinating vaccine delivery is hard (California/Blue Cross version)

 The Mercury News has the story:

Santa Clara County will not participate in state’s Blue Shield-run vaccine program  by Maggie Angst

"Santa Clara County said late Monday it won’t take part in the state’s new centralized vaccine distribution system run by Blue Shield — a potentially huge blow to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s highly-touted plan.

"County Executive Jeff Smith said the county would not sign a contract with Blue Shield allowing the health insurance company to take over vaccine distribution in the county, claiming the new oversight wouldn’t do anything to improve vaccination speed or efficiency.

...

"According to officials from Blue Shield and the state, only one county of 58 in the entire state — Kern County — has signed a contract with Blue Shield.

“I think everyone sees it as a solution looking for a problem,” Smith said. “We’re talking about adding bureaucracies rather than vaccinating people.”

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