California Blue Cross, Catholic Healthcare West Sign Contract

Blue Cross of California, owned by WellPoint Health Networks Inc. in Thousand Oaks, has agreed to a multiyear contract with Catholic Healthcare West.

The former contract expired at midnight Aug. 14.

The terms of the new contract weren’t disclosed.

It includes 40 Catholic Healthcare facilities in California and three medical groups affiliated with San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare in the Sacramento and Santa Cruz areas, the companies said in a joint statement.

Catholic Healthcare West owns St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard and St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo.

Blue Cross said it has 5.4 million members and a network of more than 400 hospitals in California. WellPoint has 7.6 million customers in its U. S. health plans.

In addition, WellPoint announced that Woodrow A. Myers, director of health-care management at Ford Motor Co., will join WellPoint as its executive vice president and chief medical officer in October.

Myers will manage WellPoint’s health-care services division, including medical policy, clinical affairs and health services operations.