Suit filed to block Medi-Cal rate cuts

San Francisco Chronicle, May 6, 2008

A coalition of healthcare organizations have sued California to block a 10 percent cut in Medi-Cal rates. The cuts would put Medi-Cal and Denti-Cal, safety net programs for the state's poor, on the verge of a "healthcare catastrophe," said members of the coalition. Fewer doctors would be willing to accept patients on Medi-Cal because the reimbursement rate is already the nation's lowest, the officials added. The suit seeks an injunction to halt $1.3 billion Medi-Cal program cuts that were approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Approximately 6.6 million people in California receive Medi-Cal.