CenCal Health NEWS HUB:
CENCAL HEALTH NAMES MARINA OWEN TO SUCCEED LONGTIME CEO
CenCal Health, the publiclyfunded health care program for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, announced that Marina Owen will serve as its CEO, effective November 1. Owen succeeds Bob Freeman who retired after 28 years with CenCal Health. As CEO of one of the first and oldest Medicaidonly managed care plans of its kind in the nation, Owen will be responsible for the overall strategic direction, management and administration of programs and services while ensuring that CenCal Health fulfills its mission, goals, and objectives. Marina Owen has more than 15 years of health plan management experience, most recently as Chief Operating Officer at Central California Alliance for Health. There, she was responsible for enterprise-wide operations and executive leadership of member services, claims, project management, provider services, grievance, process improvement and regional operations. As a CenCal Health alum, Owen previously served as its Director, Provider Services and Community Engagement from 2008 until 2017. Owen becomes just the fourth CEO in the organization’s 38-year history. “I am honored to serve CenCal Health once again,” said Owen. “I look forward to partnering with our board, members, providers and community organizations to improve the health and wellness of our diverse communities and advance health equity in the future.” Bob Freeman is credited with managing CenCal Health’s growth to a current membership of over 205,000. During
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his tenure, a specialized pediatric unit was created to support Medi-Cal members who are also eligible for California Children’s Services, special health services for children and teens who have chronic medical conditions. Freeman also initiated an annual donation to two area non-profits for senior nutrition programs serving low-income seniors. Since 2016, the total contribution is over $2 million. Freeman led an organization that is listed at the top of Best Places to Work on the Central Coast in the Pacific Coast Business Times’ annual survey. “I leave CenCal Health knowing the types of things we accomplished under my tenure will continue under Marina Owen,” said Freeman. “I have known and worked with Marina for almost 20 years. I leave the organization I love in very good hands.”
Fall 2021
