The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, March 23, will consider signing on with health insurer Blue Shield of California as part of the state government’s push to streamline the logistical work that comes with getting COVID-19 shots into millions of arms across the state.
But Blue Shield’s takeover has been a tough sell for counties around the state that have been rolling out doses with their own plans and platforms for weeks and even months.
The fate of Orange County’s own appointment scheduling system, Othena, is not mentioned in the contract, which was previewed in a board agenda. District 3 Supervisor Don Wagner said Monday board members have been told Othena will “seamlessly interface” with the scheduling system the state later developed, My Turn.
Blue Shield’s main goals are “to increase the state’s capacity for the delivery of vaccine, enhanced equitable vaccine administered and reach 70% herd immunity by the end of this summer,” said a county staff report regarding the contract.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in January the state had contracted with Blue Shield to unify piecemeal public vaccination campaigns under one banner – to better organize channels of vaccine information and inform where they should go next.
Wagner said the Blue Shield contract is “somewhat loose” regarding what it requires the county and Blue Shield to actually do, and it doesn’t guarantee any specific number of vaccine doses to be delivered – but the county doesn’t have that kind of guarantee now.
“Our sense is we will be treated at least as fairly by Blue Shield as we have been by the state,” he said. “We are no worse off than if we went directly to the state and maybe even better.”
The flow of standardized vaccine allocation and administration data – hampered by irregular dose shipments and spotty reporting to state databases – is a top priority for political leaders and public health officials moving forward as more people are made eligible and the mass vaccination effort grows.
The staff report said the contract “includes using the state’s MyTurn portal for scheduling vaccination appointments and reporting data to (Blue Shield) and the state to provide daily visibility of the vaccine network’s operation.”
The report also said a “single vaccination portal for all Californians to make appointments” is one of Blue Shield’s key principles for the transition.
Othena has facilitated at least 561,000 doses given to more than 1 million registered patients since its launch in January, making the county government the leading vaccinator in Orange County.
OC Health Care Agency director and county health officer Dr. Clayton Chau said after an initial meeting with Blue Shield representatives in late February that Othena had been praised and Blue Shield didn’t seem keen on making drastic changes to a system that works.
One thing an agreement between Blue Shield and Orange County might do – by putting a neutral third party in charge – is take the potential for politics out of the equation, Wagner said.
“I am comfortable with it. It’s not perfect,” he said. “It is the best deal on the table right now that I can see.”
Other California counties have resisted handing Blue Shield the reigns.
Last week, Riverside County snubbed the contracted health insurer and instead signed a deal with the state government to ensure ongoing vaccine supplies. San Bernardino County was still weighing its options.
After weeks of concern over how Blue Shield would shake up operations in Los Angeles County, local officials on Monday finally agreed to collaborate with Blue Shield and supply uniform data, but the county will continue to coordinate vaccinations among the region’s providers.
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