California health officials announced a new health program for hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled adults.
The federal government approved a pilot program called "Cal MediConnect," which will be available to people in eight counties who are covered by both Medi-Cal and Medicare.
State officials said the new program will offer more coordinated services for the high needs and high cost consumers of health care.
California Health and Human Services Secretary Diana Dooley said eventually the initiative could be extended statewide to more than one million Californians.
"As we get to a point where it is clear that the demonstration is successful and it will provide benefit to more people in California, we will proceed to extend that benefit to as many people as possible," said Dooley.
Cal MediConnect will start phasing in enrollment on October 1 and the program will last three years. The eight counties in the Cal MediConnect program will include Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo and Santa Clara.
