California Ass'n for Health Services at Home v. State Department of Health Care Services

—In this appeal from a judgment granting a petition for a supplemental writ of mandate, we must decide whether the State Department of Health Care Services (the Department) 1 was required to consider provider costs or otherwise comply with the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Orthopaedic Hospital v. Belshe (9th Cir. 1997) 103 F.3d 1491 (Orthopaedic) in conducting an annual review of Medi-Cal reimbursement rates paid to providers of home health agency services for the years 2001 through 2005.

The trial court found the Department had “not performed a proper rate review” and issued a writ of mandate commanding the Department to perform a further rate review consistent with Orthopaedic. The Department appeals, arguing (1) mandamus is not available because plaintiffs seek to control its discretion, (2) Orthopaedic is not controlling and the Department was not required to conduct the rate review in accordance with that decision, and (3) the Department’s review otherwise satisfied the requirements prescribed in California’s state plan.

*680 We shall conclude that mandamus does lie where, as here, plaintiffs seek to correct what they perceive to be an abuse of discretion. We shall…