AMNews: July 27, 2009. Federal appeals court halts some California Medicaid pay cuts ... American Medical News

By Amy Lynn Sorrel, AMNews staff. A recent federal appeals court ruling could dissuade budget-strapped states from looking to cut Medicaid payment rates as an answer to their fiscal woes. A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously found that California state officials in 2008 illegally instituted a 10% across-the-board cut in Medicaid rates for physicians, pharmacists and other health care entities. The ruling is a setback for the state's efforts to impose further Medicaid payment reductions to help plug a $26 billion deficit. Read More