Title
Authorize the County Administrative Officer to execute for and on behalf of the County of Monterey a Memorandum of Understanding with the State of California regarding the allocation of vaccines for COVID-19.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors authorize the County Administrative Officer to execute for and on behalf of the County of Monterey a Memorandum of Understanding with the State of California regarding the allocation of vaccines for COVID-19.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The State of California has contracted with Blue Shield California to provide third-party administrator ("TPA") services for the provision of COVID-19 vaccines to the various providers in the State. The general intent is for the TPA to provide coordinated vaccine allocation and distribution to the various entities authorized to administer the vaccines; essentially creating a state-wide provider network. The State initially required both public and private providers of vaccines to sign an agreement with Blue Shield (the "TPA Agreement") in order to receive vaccine allocations. The State's counties objected to the requirement to sign the TPA Agreement on a variety of bases, including that the requirement violated the State Constitution.
In response to the counties' concerns, the State no longer requires counties to sign the TPA Agreement, but is requiring the counties to sign a memorandum of understanding ("MOU") with the State in order to receive vaccine allocations. Monterey County has received a cover letter from the State requesting that the County sign the MOU, a copy of which is enclosed as Exhibit A. The current version of the MOU is enclosed as Exhibit B. A "frequently asked questions" sheet, prepared on behalf of the county counsels throughout the State, is enclosed as Exhibit C. The MOU and the TPA Agreement set up a bifurcated system whereby the counties will have the MOU, by which they will receive allocations from the TPA, and all other ...
Click here for full text