San Diego County to Sue State for $25M over Medical Services to Poor
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors last week decided to pursue a lawsuit against the state seeking money for state-mandated medical services the county provided to poor residents, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. In 1982, the state Legislature established the County Medical Services program, which pays for basic and emergency medical services for low-income adults, as part of a Medi-Cal reform plan. The program was supposed to be funded through state money that was transferred to the counties. However, in 1989, state lawmakers "severely" cut the counties' funding -- prompting San Diego county to attempt to stop offering services for two months. A lawsuit was filed on behalf of the patients, and a judge then ordered the county to continue funding the program. The county subsequently filed a lawsuit against the state seeking to recoup the money they paid as a result of the cuts. In 1997, the state Supreme Court ordered the Commission on State Mandates to determine how much money, if any, the state owed the county. In November 2000, the commission decided that San Diego County was "not entitled to any money." In response, the county Board of Supervisors last week agreed to sue the commission and seek a $25 million retribution (Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2/20).
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