Covered California Releases 6-Figure Salaries For Three New Hires

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's health insurance exchange has announced the pay for three new hires.

Former state finance director Ana Matosantos will make $120,000 for a six-month consulting contract. A news release issued Monday by the exchange, Covered California, says her areas of focus will include "financial sustainability" and "evaluation analytics."

The contract of another consultant, Jeffrey Rideout, was extended for a year at a cost of $411,000. Rideout teaches at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. He advises on clinical quality, network management and other areas.

Garrison Rios, who has two decades of health care administration experience, will be paid $165,000 a year as the exchange's director of communications and marketing.

All are being paid from the pool of $1 billion in federal grant money the exchange has received to date.