A new survey suggests that an ongoing coordinated careinitiative run by Medicare and California’sMedicaid program has been wildly successful, at least in terms ofcustomer service.

The poll of 2,139 Californians enrolled in the program foundthat 90 percent are satisfied with their health plan. Eighty-three percent ratethe care as good or excellent.

The survey was conducted by the UCSF Community Living Policy Center and UCBerkeley Health Research and was funded by the SCAN Foundation, agroup that pushes for “person-centered” reforms to health programsfor seniors.

Those surveyed are members of Cal Medi-Connect, a three-yeartrial project that focuses on those in the state who qualify forboth Medicare and Medi-Cal, the Golden State’s Medicaid program. There areroughly 1.1 million “dual beneficiaries” in the state.

Cal Medi-Connect is one part of a larger statewide coordinatedcare initiative, which requires Medicaid beneficiaries to beenrolled in a managed care health plan.

According to the program website, “Cal MediConnect health planswill be responsible for providing their enrollees all Medicare andMedi-Cal benefits and services, including medical care, long-termcare, behavioral health care and social supports. Beneficiaries,their family members and other caregivers will be able toparticipate in care coordination teams that help ensure delivery ofthe right services at the right time and place.”

Thirty-six percent of those enrolled in the program believetheir care is superior under the new system, while 57 percent sayit is about the same. Happily, only 6 percent say the new programprovides worse care than their previous health plan.

“These survey results are increasingly important as states andhealth plans work to maximize the success of this demonstration,make necessary adjustments, and finally make integrated andefficient coordinated care a reality for adults with complex healthneeds,” said Bruce Chernoff, president of the SCAN Foundation, saidin a statement.

It’s important to note that customer satisfaction is only one ofthe aims of coordinated care programs.

The priority, of course, is that the communication andcoordination between the numerous medical professionals serving apatient are supposed to produce better health outcomes. But alsoimportant from the perspective of a public health program orinsurer are the cost savings that are ideally achieved when care isbetter-coordinated.

Coordinated care is considered particularly important forlow-income, disabled or elderly people, who are more likely to havedifficulties getting to the pharmacy to pick up their prescriptionsor not make it to a follow-up appointment. That makes it morelikely that they will not recover from an operation properly, forinstance, and will be readmitted to the hospital for another costlyprocedure.