State health officials last year launched a first-ever competitive bidding process for its Medi-Cal insurance contracts, but when the winners were announced, several insurers complained about the process and its potential impact on patient care.

Valley Health Plan has managed to capture about 3 percent of the Santa Clara County market under Covered California, which is slightly below state levels. Though this figure pales in comparison to enrollment figures reported by the top four major healthcare providers, and it’s not as strong a figure as county officials expected two months away from the end-of-March enrollment deadline, it does represent a comparable market share to other small, local health plans, according to county officials.

Joe Simitian wants to run for Congress. It’s the worst kept secret in local politics. What seat the former state legislator and current county supervisor will run for is anybody’s guess. But Mighty Joe will be ready. In the first six months of the year, Simitian raised almost $50,000 through his officeholder account, a good chunk of which came in the last month of the filing period. Fly called Simitian to discuss, and the supervisor was more than happy to oblige.