government
Hospitals sue California over Medicaid cuts
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 14, 2011
The California Hospital Assn. on Nov. 1 sued the state over the most recent planned reduction in Medicaid payments to health professionals.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Oct. 27 approved the state's request to decrease payments to California doctors and others by 10%. The CHA said the reduction will have "an unprecedented adverse impact on California hospitals and the Medi-Cal program as a whole." The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, claims the rate reductions violate federal Medicaid law requiring fair payments to health professionals and adequate access to care.
CMS said the state proved the rate reductions will not put patient care at risk.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/11/14/gvbf1114.htm.