Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, Inc., today filed a class action complaint
against the State of California on behalf of a coalition of seven major
health care provider organizations seeking to halt a 10 percent cut in
Medi-Cal and Denti-Cal reimbursement rates scheduled to take effect July
1, 2008.
Filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the suit seeks an immediate
injunction to block the scheduled reduction in Medi-Cal payments. The
seven members of the plaintiff coalition include the California Medical
Association, the California Hospital Association, the California Dental
Association, the California Association for Adult Day Services, the
American College of Emergency Physicians State Chapter of California,
the California Pharmacists Association, and the California Association
of Public Hospitals and Health Systems.
“The cuts agreed to by the Legislature and
signed into law by the governor in February were invoked illegally, as
lawmakers failed to consider the likely impact of such cuts on Medi-Cal
beneficiaries,” said lead Plaintiff Counsel
Craig Cannizzo of Hopper, Lundy & Bookman. “If
allowed to go into effect, these cuts will devastate the Medi-Cal
program as care to our most vulnerable population will be jeopardized.”
State and federal law (42 C.F.R. Sect. 447.204) requires that Medi-Cal
payments to providers “must be sufficient to
enlist enough providers so that services under the [Medi-Cal]
plan are available to recipients at least to the extent that those
services are available to the general public.”
“If the 10 percent cut is implemented, this
mandate will not be met,” said co-Plaintiff
Counsel Lloyd Bookman. “Providers will not be
able to pay vendors, and in some cases, employees. Furthermore, patients
unable to receive timely care will be forced to seek care at already
overburdened emergency departments.”
About Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, Inc.: Hooper, Lundy & Bookman’s
lawyers are regularly engaged in complex litigation involving health
care providers. The firm’s regulatory
department regularly assists provider clients with litigation,
arbitration and mediation services that have resulted in numerous
favorable judgments and new case law. With clients in 47 states and
offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, the firm is the
largest law firm in the country dedicated solely to the representation
of health care providers. For more information, visit the firm’s
website at www.health-law.com.
|