Chiropractors Back in Medi-Cal in California Possibly Soon
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by: DrTirpak posted: July 12, 2013
According to a the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision California State lawmakers improperly stopped Medi-Cal’s funding of Chiropractic treatment and other medical services for the rural poor and other underserved areas. During the 2009 budget crisis in California the legislature allowed the Department of Health Care Services to discontinue funding of services provided by Chiropractors, Dentists, Optometrist, Podiatrists and Speech Therapists at “federally qualified health centers”. Medical Care coverage was not impacted.
The State of California contended that covering Chiropractic and the other specialties were not mandatory under the federal Medicaid Act. The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed.
California’s Mediacaid program California Medical Assistance Program or Medi-Cal is jointly administered by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the Federal Government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It provides health coverage for low income people.
A spokesperson for the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) sent an email stating "DHCS is examining this ruling and considering its potential next steps."
The state has four options: seek reconsideration by the appeals panel, a hearing before an enlarged panel of the 9th Circuit, or a review by the U.S. Supreme Court, or it can live with Friday's opinion.