Feds Allows States to Cut Medicaid Pay, Files Brief in CMA Court Battle March 8, 2013 Advocacy, CMA, Medi Cal, Medicaid, News, Payment Medi-Cal cut, CMA et al. v. Douglas et al., Medicaid, Medi-Cal lawsuit 0 The U.S. Department of Justice filed a brief last Friday before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals arguing states can cut Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) providers’ reimbursement as long as it does not harm access to care. Earlier this year, SFMS/CMA have requested an en banc review from the Ninth Circuit as part of an effort to stop the State of California from implementing a 10% cut to Medi-Cal provider reimbursement rates. In December 2012, a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled that the state could move forward with the rate cuts, passed by the Legislature in the spring of 2011, despite an earlier district court ruling that found that the cuts would irreparably harm the millions of patients who rely on Medi-Cal for health care. CMA and the other plaintiffs in the case are requesting a rehearing from the full Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The justice department's brief urged the court to uphold the cuts and insisted that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is not required to disapprove the plan amendments because they were motivated by “budgetary reasons.” "It is entirely appropriate for a state to review its Medicaid plan to determine whether it can continue to satisfy its statutory obligations at lower payment rates," the justice department wrote in the brief. CMA and the other plaintiffs in the case—California Dental Association, California Pharmacists Association , National Association of Chain Drug Stores, California Association of Medical Product Suppliers, AIDS Healthcare Foundation and American Medical Response—argue that reducing payments in the Medi-Cal system will force providers out of the program at a time when millions of new patients will be diverted into the Medi-Cal system. If the state moves forward with these cuts, access to care will be devastated, not only for the existing Medi-Cal patients, but also the 900,000 kids moving from the Healthy Families program into Medi-Cal in 2013 and the millions of patients that will be newly eligible for Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act in 2014. Comments are closed.
