February 9, 2016
VIA HAND DELIVERY
The Honorable John M. W. Moorlach
Chair, Orange County Board of Supervisors
Hall of Administration
333 W. Santa Ana Blvd.
Santa Ana CA 92701
RE:
No good act goes unpunished (CalOptima issues)
Dear Chairman Moorlach:
We, the Board of Directors of the Irvine Health Foundation, wish to express our grave
concerns regarding the ongoing campaign to besmirch the good reputation of
CalOptima, its staff and its Board of Directors. Because the most recent salvo in this
campaign falsely attacked our President, Ed Kacic, and by association all of us along
with the Irvine Health Foundation (“IHF”), we are compelled to respond.
The Irvine Health Foundation was formed in 1985, and in the ensuing 26 years has
worked toward one goal – to improve the health and health status of the residents of
Orange County. We began with an endowment of $15 million, and since inception we
have awarded over $25 million in grants, all for the benefit of the residents of Orange
County. In short, we have an outstanding record of fiscal management and commitment
to our community.
IHF has also been entrusted with funds from the sales of Anaheim Memorial Medical
Center and South Coast Medical Center by the Attorney General of the State of
California. These funds will be used to provide needed health care services to persons
residing in the service areas of those hospitals. IHF was chosen to administer these
funds (a portion of which have been awarded to the Vietnamese Community of Orange
County’s Asian Health Center through a collaborative effort between IHF and the County
of Orange Health Care Agency) because of our history of supporting health care efforts
in our community and because we refused to accept a fee or any reimbursement for
managing the funds.
In its 26 plus years, the Irvine Health Foundation has demonstrated its leadership and its
willingness to work collaboratively to achieve its goals. For nearly ten years, IHF’s
primary focus has been to improve the health care “safety net” in this County. We have
worked alone on some activities, but primarily we have worked in collaboration with
many agencies and organizations – including the County of Orange, towards solutions to
this crisis.
As Mr. Kacic explained to reporters and others, there was no “self-dealing” involved
when IHF agreed to be the applicant on behalf of Orange County’s Managed System of
Hon. John Moorlach
February 9, 2016
Page Two
Care (“MSC”) in its application for a federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Innovation Grant. Mr. Kacic made it clear to the MSC steering committee, the IHF board
and others that the Foundation was only serving as the applicant because MSC is not
yet an incorporated non-profit organization, and that IHF would not accept any funds,
should the grant be approved. Rather, Mr. Kacic insisted that the grantor would have to
send funds to a different entity, such as a 501(c)(3) to be formed by the MSC, or to
another nonprofit agreeable to the MSC Steering Committee and to the grantor.
We are incensed that the authors of this vicious smear did not have the decency to
check their facts with IHF before acting. We are angry and surprised that they have
maliciously impugned our President and our organization when we were simply
facilitating an opportunity for Orange County to receive funding for much-needed
programs to benefit our community’s poor and sick. We are further concerned that this
defamatory accusation may have jeopardized MSC’s success in securing the grant. We
are also surprised and disappointed that senior executives of the Hospital Association of
Southern California have continued to spread this damaging misinformation despite
having received the facts disproving the allegation.
In his nearly 23 years at the Irvine Health Foundation, the Board of Directors has
continuously supported Mr. Kacic’s activities in the community. We view this as part of
our mission. This support for Mr. Kacic’s work includes backing his efforts with the
Managed System of Care, and his service on the Board of Directors of CalOptima as an
extension of our mission. We continue to encourage him to devote his valuable time to
support these endeavors and recommend that you provide favorable consideration for
his re-application to the CalOptima Board of Directors, so that CalOptima will benefit
from his experience and wise leadership.
The Irvine Health Foundation will continue its efforts to improve the health and health
status of the residents of Orange County. That is our mission, and that is our pledge to
our community. We urge you to help us maintain that pledge.
Sincerely,
Timothy L. Strader, Chairman
Carol M. McDermott, AICP, Vice-Chair
Jeffery E. Flocken, Treasurer
Thomas C. Cesario, MD, Secretary
John C. Gaffney, Director
Douglas M. Mancino, Esq., Director
Margarita Pereyda, MD, Director
Gerald B. Sinykin, MD, Director
cc:
Members, Orange County Board of Supervisors
Media
MSC Steering Committee
CalOptima Board of Directors, MAC and PAC