Sutter Health Plus, a not-for-profit HMO affiliated with Sutter Health, today announced plans to offer health care coverage to employers and consumers in Santa Cruz County. The health plan will begin its sales and marketing efforts now with coverage effective as early as Jan. 1, 2018, pending regulatory approval.

“It’s exciting to give employers and consumers in Santa Cruz County new health plan options and ways to access high-quality care. The expansion will complement our Bay Area provider network and will also benefit consumers in the South Bay who live or work in Santa Cruz County,” says Phil Jackson, Sutter Health’s CEO of Health Plan Products. 

Once approved, the Sutter Health Plus network in Santa Cruz County will include Palo Alto Medical Foundation and its care centers throughout the county, Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center, and Watsonville Community Hospital. Members will also have access to El Camino Hospital in Los Gatos, a Sutter Health Plus participating provider since 2015.

The move into Santa Cruz County will mark the third geographic expansion since the health plan’s launch in 2014. Today, Sutter Health Plus has grown to serve nearly 70,000 members.

“It’s impressive to see so many new members join our health plan and a privilege to welcome former Sutter Health patients back,” says Jackson. “And time and again employer groups and members decide to renew with us—this demonstrates we’re delivering a high-value product that meets their needs.”

Once approved, the health plan’s provider network will include 30 hospitals, seven Walk-in Care facilities, 45 urgent care centers, and more than 5,000 physicians.