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Sacramento – Attorneys representing Clinicas del Camino Real and two other plaintiffs took their lawsuit to Sacramento Superior Court on Friday, June 12 and asked Judge Timothy Frawley to help preserve California’s vital health safety net for 3-million people by not allowing cuts to the Medi-Cal program July 1st.
“What the State of California is attempting to do is illegal since the statute it is using to justify the cuts does not apply to Federal Qualified Health Centers (FQHC’s),” said Attorney Jennifer Dauer. “What we’re asking the Court to do is look at the statute and interpret it the way the State Legislature intended when they enacted it.”
The State of California argued that it has the right to determine the specific medical services for patients covered through Medi-Cal and can eliminate so-called “Optional Services” not required by federal statute adding that the specific cuts and their impact on clinics has yet to be determined.
“The California Department of Health Services is still working to put together a plan and many of the matters involved in it including any range of services that may be affected may not be known until as late as October 1st,” said Mateo Nunez, Assistant Attorney General. “It is our position that cases which are hypothetical are not subject to adjudication.”
Also involved in the lawsuit challenging the State of California’s scheduled cuts are the California Primary Care Association which represents an estimated 800 health centers statewide and Southern Trinity, a community-health network located in Humboldt County.
“I am hopeful that our legal system will stop what elected officials have not --- the cold, calculated cuts to the only health care available to millions of the most vulnerable among us and one that’s taken decades to build,” said Roberto Juarez, CEO of Clinicas del Camino Real.
Judge Frawley listened to both sides and is taking their arguments and legal briefs under advisement. A decision could be rendered within as little as two weeks.
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