Pediatricians challenging how the state pays for Medicaid services to children could see the nine-year-old case end in October, the Miami Herald reports.
The lawsuit, filed in 2005, claims that the Agency for Health Care Administration, Department of Health and Department of Children and Families violated federal law, and also hampered patient access by making low Medicaid payments to providers, the Herald reports.
Medicaid payments to doctors had been bumped up by the Affordable Care Act for the past two years, but that ends Dec. 31. The Florida Legislature set aside additional money for next year, but that amount still falls short of Medicare payment rates for comparable treatments, according to the Herald..
If the judge rules in favor of the plaintiffs, the Herald reports that the state may have to pay an additional $227 million a year to pediatricians and dentists.
