UC-Davis Sues County for Failure To Pay for Indigent Medical Care
On Thursday, the UC-Davis Health System filed a lawsuit claiming that Sacramento County failed to pay UC-Davis Medical Center as much as $125 million for indigent care services between July 2008 and September 2009, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Background
State law requires counties to cover medical care for indigent residents. In previous years, Sacramento County paid UC-Davis Medical Center an annual lump sum for such care.
However, in June 2008 the county decided to contract with a third-party administrator to pay for services.
By March 2009, the county had paid claims worth nearly the full amount of the third party contract. Soon after, the county stopped reimbursing UC-Davis for indigent care services.
In September 2009, Sacramento County sent letters informing indigent residents that it had ended its contract with UC-Davis and would no longer cover services at the medical center (Lewis, Sacramento Bee, 11/20).
Suit Details
The lawsuit charges Sacramento County with breach of contract and calls for the county to repay the medical center for indigent care services already provided.
The suit also seeks a court order to require the county to cover all future emergency care for residents who meet the indigent eligibility standard.
Sacramento County officials declined to comment on the case. They said they would continue meeting with UC-Davis representatives in an attempt to resolve the matter outside of courts (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 11/19). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.