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News Update from David Redman, OD COA President 9 July O8
* The Assembly-Senate budget conference committee concluded its work yesterday. Good news: No further Medi-Cal cuts, and "optional" services - optometry and optical included - have again been spared. The Alliance for Patient Care, a multi-organizational provider coalition that includes us, is getting good media traction on harm-to-the-system stories. Bad News: their proposal requires $8.5 billion in additional revenues, guaranteeing continued confrontation over finding the six Assembly and two Senate Republican votes needed to get to two-thirds in each house.
* We just learned today that the Attorney General has filed for further delay in CMA et al. v. Shewry et al., the lawsuit we joined to fight implementation of the July 1 10% Medi-Cal provider payment cuts. We're still optimistic; defendants' first ploy, to remove the case to federal court, didn't succeed, and we're still set for hearing on our motion for a preliminary injunction on July 25.
