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L.A. Now Live: California may cut Medi-Cal reimbursements

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A federal appeals court decided unanimously Thursday that California may cut reimbursements to doctors, pharmacies and others who serve the poor under Medi-Cal, a move that could help the state close its budget gap.

Times Sacramento reporter Chris Megerian will join L.A. Now Live to discuss the decision by the three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

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The judges overturned injunctions blocking the state from implementing a 2011 law that slashed Medi-Cal reimbursements by 10%. Medi-Cal, a version of Medicaid, serves low-income Californians.

The ruling could make it harder to find doctors for as many as 2 million new patients who could become eligible for Medi-Cal under the federal healthcare law now being implemented -- a possible 25% expansion of the program. California already provides one of the lowest rates of reimbursement in the nation for medical services to the poor, and there is a shortage of doctors to serve those patients.

Lynn S. Carman, an attorney for a group of pharmacies, said the decision would be costly for providers, worsen the doctor shortage and would be appealed.

‘If this decision stands, it will not only destroy the Medicaid program in California, but it will destroy the Obamacare program for millions of Americans who are now being shoved into the Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act,’ Carman said.

‘They will not be able to obtain quality healthcare or access to services because providers cannot provide services at less than what it costs to furnish them,’ Carman said.

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