Dhs
California Ass'n for Health Service at Home v. State Department of Health Services
Opinion
Opinion
Blease, J.
Plaintiffs and appellants are a home health care provider, an association of home health care providers, and a disability rights advocacy group. They claim defendants, the State Department of Health Services and its director, Sandra Shewry (collectively, DHS), failed to comply with federal Medicaid and state Medi-Cal laws by refusing since 2000 to raise or to review Medi-Cal reimbursement rates paid to the providers of home health care services.
The trial court issued a writ of mandate requiring DHS to perform a review of reimbursement rates for the then current year (2005). The trial court denied plaintiffs’ request for a writ to compel DHS to raise reimbursement rates for prior years. Plaintiffs appeal the trial court’s denial of a writ to compel a review and an increase of rates for past years, and DHS cross-appeals the grant of the writ to compel a review of rates for 2005.
We shall conclude DHS was required to review reimbursement rates annually, but that plaintiffs have failed to show DHS was obligated to set new rates. We shall also conclude that the trial court erred in not extending its mandate to prior years.