Family Physicians Hail Patient Care Benefits

Family physicians today are commending Monday’s order by a federal district judge that overturned the State of California’s 10% cut in fees to physicians who see the 6.5 million patients covered by the Medi-Cal program. "The judge agreed with our evidence that patients would suffer if the payment cuts were allowed to stand," said Jeffrey Luther, MD, president of the 7,000-member California Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP). The physicians learned of the ruling late yesterday.

"We presented compelling evidence that many family physicians would be unable to continue seeing Medi-Cal patients," Luther explained. "Because the Department of Health Care Services’ Medi-Cal payments already were far below the costs of providing care, the cut would have forced many family physicians to close their practices to new Medi-Cal patients."

Citing these facts and other likely ill effects of the 10 percent cuts passed by the Legislature in February, the judge ordered that the State’s decision to reduce the payments be rescinded.

"As advocates for our patients and for the public’s health, we just could not stand by and watch patients’ access to care deteriorate even further than it already has," Luther said. CAFP is part of a coalition of health care providers suing the State of California to prevent the Medi-Cal cuts.

"When family physicians are forced for economic reasons to stop seeing Medi-Cal patients, there is an impact on quality of life and cost of care," Luther said. "Patients often delay seeking care and, when they absolutely must see a doctor, they end up in already overburdened emergency rooms where care is more expensive and follow-up care can’t be tracked. The public health of California depends on people staying as well as possible and, when ill, being treated promptly. Primary care doctors, including family physicians, are the first line of defense against declining public health and escalating epidemics like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. The court’s decision keeps this critical public health element in place."

Editor’s Notes: (1) Family physicians throughout California are available for interviews to discuss the ways the court decision positively affects patients and physicians alike; (2) The judge’s order cites written testimony provided by CAFP Immediate Past President Carla Kakutani, MD (at bottom of p.16). For a copy of the order, see:

www.familydocs.org/news-media/media-center/press-releases.php.

About the California Academy of Family Physicians

With more than 7,000 members, including active practicing family physicians, residents in family medicine, and medical students interested in the specialty, CAFP is the largest primary care medical society in California, Family physicians are trained to treat an entire family’s medical needs, addressing the whole spectrum of life’s medical challenges. FPs serve a broad base of patients in urban, suburban and rural areas, often in California’s most underserved areas.