Dermegerdich

In this case, we hold that an alien not under an order of deportation, though she is illegally in the United States, is eligible for medical benefits pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 11104.

Defendant Beverlee Myers appeals from the judgment of the Santa Clara County Superior Court granting a writ of mandamus compelling her (as Director of the California State Department of Health Services) to set aside the decision in administrative proceedings. It was ordered that plaintiff Rinic Dermegerdich be reinstated to the California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal) and that defendant retroactively pay plaintiff benefits which had been denied. We affirm.

Plaintiff is an Iranian national who suffers from multiple sclerosis. She had been receiving Medi-Cal benefits; however, in June 1981, Santa Clara County notified her that her eligibility would be discontinued effective the last day of that month. She requested an administrative hearing to protest the discontinuance. She was not under an order of deportation even though the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) informed the county that plaintiff entered the country as a nonimmigrant visitor on June…