Image of male nurse pushing senior woman in a wheelchair in nursing facility

Nursing home providers and a resident have filed a lawsuit against the state of California for failing to make needed Medi-Cal payments.

The state has missed nearly $750 million in Medi-Cal payments to healthcare providers, including nursing homes, as a result of a budget impasse since July 1. The state had set up a $2 billion contingency fund to pay Medi-Cal institutions during budget crises, but the state has already exhausted the account.

In the suit, two nursing homes and the California Association of Health Facilities demand that the state make payments in a budget stalemate because failure to do so would violate the constitutional rights of providers and Medi-Cal beneficiaries. An elderly resident is the second plaintiff in the suit. The Legislature currently is on summer recess and will reconvene later this month.