Government
Court ruling stops Calif. Medicaid cuts
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 19, 2004
California physicians weren't hit by a 5% Medi-Cal rate cut on Jan. 1 thanks to a preliminary injunction issued in late December 2003 by U.S. District Judge David Levi.
The state didn't consider how the payment cut -- which would total hundreds of millions of dollars -- would impact access to care for the people enrolled in California's Medicaid program, Levi said.
The ruling seems to thwart the additional 10% reduction proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration as well, said California Medical Assn. CEO Jack Lewin, MD. "The judge's decision will prevent further erosion of access to care for our most vulnerable patients," he said.
Attorneys for CMA and other plaintiffs are reviewing what the decision means for cuts already made in the Medi-Cal managed care plans. Levi ruled that those reductions, which touch about half of the estimated 6.5 million Medi-Cal recipients, would have to be addressed separately.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/01/19/gvbf0119.htm.
