Independent Living Center of Southern California, Inc. v. Maxwell-Jolly

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiffs-Appellees Independent Living Center of Southern California, Inc., et al. sought a preliminary injunction in the district court to enjoin AB 1183’s five percent Medi-Cal reimbursement rate reduction as to providers of pharmacy services. As the facts and procedural history are familiar to the parties, we do not recite them here except as necessary to explain our decision. We affirm the district court’s grant of the preliminary injunction.

For the reasons discussed in Cal. Pharms. Ass’n v. Maxwell-Jolly, 596 F.3d 1098, 1098-1115 (9th Cir.2010) (California Pharmacists II), we reject the Director’s contention that the State legislature was not required to study the impact of the five percent rate reduction on the statutory factors of efficiency, economy, quality, and access to care, prior to enacting AB 1183.

The primary issue in this appeal is whether the legislature actually conducted the requisite analysis prior to enacting AB 1183. At oral argument, the Director called our attention to a December 2007 Survey of Dispensing and Acquisition Costs of Pharmaceuticals in the State of California, which was prepared for the Department by the accounting firm Myers…