There has been an ongoing saga in California about cuts to providers who treat patients that are covered by Medi-Cal. More than one court case has been filed about this situation. Now, a federal appeals court has approved the reimbursement cut to providers who see Medi-Cal patients.
This story has been going on for quite some time. In 2008 and 2009, the state of California legislature cut the reimbursement fees that it paid to hospitals, doctors, and other health care providers. In some cases, the cut to the reimbursement rate was as high as 10%.
In 2011, the state of California refused to release supporting evidence that the reimbursement cuts to Medi-Cal would not harm patient’s access to health care. This was after the California Medical Association, California Hospital Association, and California Pharmacists Association filed a Public Records Act request for that evidence.
In October of 2011, a group of hospitals, doctors, and patients sued the state of California over the cuts to the reimbursement rate for health care providers who treated patients that were covered by Medi-Cal. They wanted a stop put to those cuts. The federal appeals court ruled that the Medicaid cuts were illegal, and halted them.
The outcome of that case was appealed by the state of California. Now, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that the state of California can cut rates to doctors, pharmacists, and the other health care providers that see patients who are covered by Medi-Cal. This ruling overturns the previous ruling, by a lower court, that blocked the state budget cut of reimbursement rates in 2011.
This may not be the end of the story. Lynn S. Carman represents pharmacists as the chief counsel for the Medicaid Defense Fund. She said plaintiffs plan to ask the court to reconsider this decision. If that is denied, or if it doesn’t result in a block to the rate cuts, plaintiffs may ask the United States Supreme Court to hear the case.
Some feel that this ruling could make it harder for people who are covered by Medi-Cal to find doctors who will agree to see them. California provides one of the lowest rates in the nation to health care providers who see patients covered by Medicaid.
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