State Court Denies Preliminary Injunction to Stop Medi-Cal Cuts
[Posted 08/04/08]

Last week, a state court failed to reverse the 10 percent Medi-Cal reimbursement cut that took effect on July 1. While the court agreed with CMA and the other plaintiffs that these cuts would irreparably harm access to health care for nearly 7 million Californians, it denied the preliminary injunction on the grounds that the state court lacks the authority to enforce the federal law in state court.

The decision as an enormous setback for the health and lives of the millions of Californians who rely on the state’s safety net. We are considering all options, including filing an emergency appeal with the second district appellate court in Los Angeles. Additional cases are pending in other courts seeking to stop the Medi-Cal cuts.

 “This is the fourth court in five years to find that the state of California has put at risk the access to health care for millions of Californians by underfunding the Medi-Cal program,” Dr. Richard Frankenstein, MD, president of the California Medical Association. “We are hopeful that should the courts be unable for technical procedural reasons to grant some relief to millions of Californians who rely on Medi-Cal for their health care needs, the governor and legislature will act to do so.”

The 10 percent cut was proposed by the Schwarzenegger Administration and agreed to earlier this year by the State Legislature in an emergency budget session as part of their efforts to address the $15 billion shortfall facing the state. CMA’s lawsuit, filed in May, alleges that the state has failed to set Medi-Cal reimbursement rates at a level that ensures access to health care for Californians on Medi-Cal, in violation of federal law.

CMA continues to work on other fronts to oppose the cuts. Together with a coalition of health care providers and health care consumer groups, CMA is airing ads in key areas of the state telling legislators to stop the cuts. (One of the ads can be viewed below.)

These paid ads are supplementing and reinforcing the messages from stories CMA has successfully generated in newspapers across the state which describe the impact the cuts will have on health care in California. Together, the earned and paid media efforts support the continued work by our government relations team to convince legislators to overturn the cuts.

Contact: Francisco Silva, 916/444-5532 or fsilva@cmanet.org.