28 January 2009  Seeking relief in the courts  So, California ER
docs are suing the state of California over low reimbursement
rates from Medi-Cal, the state insurance program for the
indigent.  Well isn't that interesting  It's hard not to see
this, coming as it does on the heels of the California Supreme
Court's prohibition on balance billing, as a planned step in a
coordinated strategy, especially as it involves several large ER
groups.   But I don't think so.   It's reactionary -- in
response to the recent budget cuts, I think, rather than being
logically related to the balance billing issue.   And I am not
sure how well-thought-out it truly is.  Sure, it provides a
platform to get out the rhetoric that the ER safety net is
unraveling, and it highlights the disgrace that is medicaid
reimbursement nation-wide.   But if the suit is without merit,
constructed on a shaky legal theory, as I suspect it is, it will
be dismissed or otherwise lost.   That will neutralize any
momentum towards reforming the Medi-Cal