Seven groups receive funding to help eligible members stay enrolled

CAMARILLO, Calif., Sept. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Gold Coast Health Plan (GCHP) today announced the recipients of its Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability & Equity (RISE) Grant Program. Now in its second year, GCHP awarded one-year grants totaling $2,087,811 to seven providers and community organizations supporting Medi-Cal members as the federal changes to coverage requirements take effect.

The aim of the RISE Grant Program is to expand access to care to better meet the physical and behavioral health needs of Medi-Cal members in Ventura County. GCHP is using the 2026 RISE Grant Program to engage providers and community partners in supporting Medi-Cal members in understanding, navigating, and complying with new Medicaid eligibility, work, and community engagement requirements that are set to begin in 2027. To date, the program has invested more than $13 million into the community, including 16 grants awarded in 2025, totaling $11.3 million.

"With Medi-Cal changes rolling out over the next year, we want to ensure our providers and community organizations have the resources they need to help members navigate the upcoming changes," said Dr. Felix Nuñez, GCHP's chief executive officer. "With these grants, our goal is to minimize coverage disruptions for eligible members so they have continuous access to high-quality care and services."

The grant was open to hospitals, health systems, service providers, and community-based organizations with initiatives that help members:

• Maintain Medi-Cal coverage.
• Avoid administrative disenrollment.
• Successfully complete renewal requirements.
• Connect to qualifying work, training, education, or community engagement activities through culturally and linguistically appropriate navigation, community or volunteer programs and opportunities, and education support.

Following a competitive process and thorough review, GCHP's grant management partner, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), selected seven organizations and projects to receive funding:

• Community Memorial Health System: $386,607
  • Medi-Cal Re-enrollment & Coverage Retention Initiative: Aims to improve coverage renewal and retention among GCHP members ages 19-64 by using text-based and AI-assisted outreach tools, along with eligibility worker support, to reach members in culturally and linguistically appropriate ways.

• Conejo Health: $290,197
  • STAY — Stabilizing Treatment and Your Coverage: Aims to support at least 2,200 at-risk members, including people experiencing homelessness, serious mental illness, or substance use disorders, by deploying three enrollment specialists to help them enroll, re-enroll, and avoid losing coverage.
     
• Westminster Free Clinic: $235,950
  • RENUEVA  — Renewal & Enrollment Navigation for Uninterrupted Eligibility & Verification Assistance: Aims to help low-income Latinos from mixed-status families keep or regain Medi-Cal coverage by providing one-on-one enrollment and re-enrollment navigation to 1,000 individuals who have lost coverage or are at risk of losing it.

• Many Mansions: $92,274
  • Medi-Cal Coverage Stability Initiative: Aims to prevent coverage lapses for approximately 1,350 low-income and formerly unhoused residents by offering on-site enrollment support and helping members meet eligibility and renewal requirements through Ventura County's largest affordable housing provider.
     
• Mixteco Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP): $334,217
  • Sustaining Healthcare Access for Indigenous Migrants: Aims to provide linguistically and culturally appropriate outreach, enrollment, and renewal services to Indigenous and non-Indigenous migrant communities, assisting members with at least 350 applications and redeterminations per month while helping 60 members monthly connect with services like finding a primary care doctor, transportation, and interpretation.

• Ventura County Health Care Agency: $399,823
  • Ventura County Health Care Agency Medi-Cal Coverage Stability Initiative: Aims to keep members covered by weaving renewal screening and education into routine clinic and hospital visits, identifying patients whose coverage is coming up for renewal, and connecting them to enrollment resources.
     
• Ventura County Public Health Department: $348,743
  • Health Care for All — Field-Based Enrollment & Renewal Initiative: Aims to reach at least 1,200 unhoused and vulnerable residents by sending certified enrollment counselors into shelters, health clinics, and community sites to help members complete their renewals and avoid losing their coverage.

"Medi-Cal is a lifeline for families throughout Ventura County," said Erik Cho, GCHP's chief of staff and strategy. "These seven organizations have existing relationships with our members, and by investing in them, we are creating a network of support to ensure that no one loses coverage simply because they weren't informed or didn't understand the steps they needed to take to maintain their coverage."

For more information on GCHP's RISE Grant Program, visit www.goldcoasthealthplan.org/community/grants/rise-grant-program/.

About Gold Coast Health Plan
Gold Coast Health Plan proudly serves about 220,000 Medi-Cal members in Ventura County through its network of primary care physicians, specialists, behavioral health providers and hospitals. Since it was founded in 2011, Gold Coast Health Plan has been committed to providing access to high-quality care and improving the health of its members, which include 1 in 3 county residents, 1 in 6 seniors, and 1 in 2 children up to the age of 5. To learn more, visit: www.goldcoasthealthplan.org.

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SOURCE Gold Coast Health Plan