County of Kern v. State Department of Health Care Services

Opinion

ASHMANN-GERST, J.

County of Kem operates the Kem Medical Center (collectively Kern). Kern challenges the decision of respondent State Department of Health Care Services (Department) to reduce Kem’s Medi-Cal reimbursements by $2,295,367. According to the Department, Kem should have been paid $925 per patient day instead of $1,125 per patient day for services provided to patients in its neonatal intensive care unit when the nurse-to-patient staffing ratios exceeded one to one or one to two. When Kem pursued an administrative appeal, the Department upheld the legal basis for the reduction…