Ruth

Appellant Kenneth Kizer, Director of the California Department of Health Services (DHS), appeals a writ of mandate issued pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.5 requiring him to authorize oxygen and portable oxygen equipment for Medi-Cal recipients Barbara Ruth, June P. Hall, Cricket J. Buffalo and Susan Molloy (collectively, respondents). At issue is whether appellant’s refusal to pay for oxygen and portable oxygen equipment for treatment of “Multiple Chemical Sensitivities” (MCS) violated federal and state law.

Facts and Procedural History

All respondents are persons entitled to receive benefits through Medi-Cal, a state medical assistance program affording qualified individuals health care and related remedial or preventative services. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 14000.) They have each been diagnosed by their treating physicians as having a severe hypersensitivity to chemical substances commonly found in the environment, such as perfume, cigarette smoke, chemical fumes, cleaning fumes, and car fumes. Their physicians refer to it as “Multiple Chemical Sensitivities” or “Environmentally-Induced Illness.” In the medical literature the condition is not defined by…