Thomas

Plaintiff Pete G. Thomas, a podiatrist, filed this action for a writ of traditional mandate ordering defendant (who is the director of the State Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)) to reconsider his application for reenrollment as a provider of Medi-Cal services without regard to his outstanding liability for an overpayment that a DHCS audit identified in July 1999 and that the DHCS caused to be entered summarily as a judgment in July 2002; in the alternative, he sought an order for the DHCS to provide him an opportunity to contest the audit determination on the merits. The trial court denied the petition. Plaintiff has filed a timely notice of appeal.

In his own words, plaintiff “is limiting his appeal only to the issue of whether . . . [the] DHCS’[s] failure to file a certificate in Orange County [his principal place of business] [to request a summary entry of judgment on the 1999 overpayment determination (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 14172) ] did not affect the enforceability of the July 1, 2002, [Sacramento County] Judgment [entered pursuant to section 14172].” We shall affirm.

Facts

The DHCS conducted onsite audits of plaintiff’s records in November 1998 and May…