Court Maintains Block of State Efforts To Cut Medi-Cal Rates
On Wednesday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to reconsider a previous injunction that halted reimbursement rate cuts for Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
Background
Last year, California reduced Medi-Cal reimbursements by 10% for pharmacists, physicians and other health care providers (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 9/24).
In July, the appeals court unanimously ruled that the rate reductions violated a federal statute, which requires states that receive Medicaid funds to set reimbursement rates at levels that allow for equal access to health care.
The court said the state implemented the cuts for financial reasons and did not sufficiently study how the 10% reductions would affect Medi-Cal beneficiaries' access to care (California Healthline, 7/10).
After the July ruling, state officials requested a rehearing on the matter.
Next Steps
State officials say Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is considering various responses to the decision, including appealing the case to the U.S. Supreme Court (Sacramento Business Journal, 9/24).
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