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Pharmacy Patients Likely to Suffer from Ninth Circuit Ruling on Provider Reimbursement Cuts, According to the California Pharmacists AssociationSACRAMENTO, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today reversed the Court's earlier decision in CMA et al. vs Douglas, which had approved injunctions against reimbursement cuts to providers in California's Medicaid (Medi-Cal) program. Earlier this year, this court blocked California from implementing 10 percent cuts. "The decision by the Ninth District today is devastating news for Medi-Cal patients who rely on providers for access to life-saving medications as well as medical, dental, medical equipment and specialty healthcare services," stated Jon R. Roth, CAE, Chief Executive Officer of the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA). "If enacte, Medi-Cal patients will find themselves without a provider because these cuts will drive practitioners out of the system. At a time when the State is moving ahead with transitioning 900,000 children from Healthy Families into Medi-Cal, and enrolling 5-7 million adults into Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act, these cuts are completely contrary to good public health policy." CPhA will continue to work with the coalition of other health care providers to assess their options moving forward. "For a State that continually talks about wanting to be the healthiest in the Nation, decisions to enact cuts like these are nothing less than shocking," added Jon R. Roth. The California Pharmacists Association, along with the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, California Association of Medical Product Suppliers, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, California Medical Association, California Dental Association, and American Medical Response are all plaintiffs in the case. The California Pharmacists Association represents pharmacy professionals from all practice settings whose mission is to promote, expand and defend the profession of pharmacy and the role of pharmacists in California.
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