California Association of Rura v. David Maxwell-Jolly

OPINION

D.W. NELSON, Senior Circuit Judge:

This case concerns a clash of competing interests: the mission of publicly-funded health clinics to provide a panoply of medical services to under-served communities on the one hand, and California’s persistent budget woes on the other. We must decide whether California legislation that eliminates coverage for certain healthcare services, including adult dental, podiatry, optometry and chiropractic services, conflicts with the Medicaid Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1396, et seq., and is therefore invalid. We hold that Medicaid prohibits the limitations adopted by…