Order Barring Medi-California Payment Cuts Will Stand
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to cut rates that MediCal pays doctors was dealt another setback Thursday.
U.S. District Judge David F. Levi refused to reconsider an earlier order blocking such cuts. Levi had ruled that cutting the provider rates by 5% was illegal because the state could not prove that the effect on access to care for the poor would be minimal.
The administration has since proposed cutting those rates by another 10%, hoping that the ruling will be overturned on appeal.
Levi’s order will force the state to find $850 million elsewhere to balance the budget.
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