California Ass'n of Nursing Homes Sanitaruims, Rest Homes & Homes for the Aged, Inc. v. Williams

At issue in this appeal is the validity of an administrative regulation prescribing the standards which determine the level of state payments for the care of Medi-Cal patients in nursing and convalescent homes.

Petitioner is an association of state-licensed nursing and convalescent homes. At the commencement of this action respondent Spencer Williams held the office then entitled Administrator of the Health and Welfare Agency, now called Secretary of the Human Relations Agency. The Director of Health Care Services is the official currently directing the Medi-Cal program. 1 Petitioner filed this declaratory relief and mandamus action in the *806 Sacramento Superior Court assailing validity of the regulation and contending that its financial provisions forced nursing homes to operate at a loss. After a hearing the court entered a judgment sustaining the regulation and declaring its validity. Petitioner appeals.

The basic features of the Medi-Cal program were described in some detail in Morris v. Williams (1967) 67 Cal.2d 733 [ 63 Cal.Rptr. 689 , 433 P.2d 697 ]. Suffice it to say here that Title XIX of the Social Security Act ( Public Law 89-97, 1965 ) authorized federal…

Both parties have filed petitions for rehearing. The nursing homes contend that our opinion is not sufficiently explicit in calling for the adoption of regulations covering nursing home rates from March 1, 1966, the operative date of the Medi-Cal program. The Attorney General expresses his understanding that the writ of mandate will require the MediCal agency to adopt regulations retroactively covering nursing home services rendered on and after March 1, 1966, but that the rates or rate formulae may vary for different periods. The Attorney General is correct.

In his petition for rehearing, the Attorney General contends for the first time that the regulation in question fixes “rates, prices or tariffs,” hence is within the exemption provided by Government Code section 11380, subdivision (a) (1). * That section, a portion of the Administrative Procedure *821 Act, exempts certain classes of regulations from the requirement of filing with the Secretary of State and from compliance with public notice and hearing procedures. (See Gov. Code, § 11421.) The contention amounts to a claim that the Medi-Cal agency may adopt rate regulations with no prior notice or hearing. It is at odds with…

At issue in this appeal is the validity of an administrative regulation prescribing the standards which determine the level of state payments for the care of Medi-Cal patients in nursing and convalescent homes.

Petitioner is an association of state-licensed nursing and convalescent homes. At the commencement of this action respondent Spencer Williams held the office then entitled Administrator of the Health and Welfare Agency, now called Secretary of the Human Relations Agency. The Director of Health Care Services is the official currently directing the Medi-Cal program. [1] Petitioner filed this declaratory relief and mandamus action in the Sacramento Superior Court assailing validity of the regulation and contending that its financial provisions forced nursing homes to operate at a loss. After a hearing the court entered a judgment sustaining the regulation and declaring its validity. Petitioner appeals.

The basic features of the Medi-Cal program were described in some detail in Morris v. Williams (1967) 67 Cal.2d 733 [ 63 Cal. Rptr. 689 , 433 P.2d 697 ]. Suffice it to say here that Title XIX of the Social Security Act ( Public Law 89-97, 1965 )…