California Healthline, August 9, 2011
Topic – Medi-Cal

On Monday, Democratic congressional leaders and former federal health officials filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that Medicaid beneficiaries should be able to file lawsuits against states that make cuts to the program, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 8/8).

Background

In 2008 and 2009, the California Legislature passed laws that cut reimbursements to Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program.

Health care providers and Medi-Cal beneficiaries challenged the cuts in court, arguing that the payment cuts violated federal law that says Medicaid rates must be “sufficient to enlist enough providers” so beneficiaries can access care to the same extent as the general population in a particular area (California Healthline, 8/8).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said that beneficiaries could sue under the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause, which lets federal law take precedence over state law (New York Times, 8/8).

California appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court (California Healthline, 8/8).

Details of the Briefs  — Read Article, California Healthline