skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, March 1, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump's promise of 'very big deal' with Zelensky undercut by officials' widespread doubts over Ukraine's resources; Faith leaders call out inhumane heat conditions in U.S. prisons; Texans encouraged to 'decarbonize' buildings to fight climate change; the state of animal waste regulations in Virginia.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Senate Republicans say they'll change the House's budget resolution. Trump questions whether he called the Ukrainian president a 'dictator' ahead of his White House visit, and environmental groups question EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's call for deregulation.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The federal funding freeze has left U.S. farmers in limbo about their future farm projects, tourists could find public lands in disarray when visiting this summer, while money to fight rural wildfires is in jeopardy.

California Latino Advocates File Civil Rights Claim over Medi-Cal

play audio
Play

Wednesday, December 16, 2015   

California is violating the civil rights of Latinos by underfunding Medi-Cal, the state's health-care program for low-income families and the disabled, according to a complaint filed in federal court this week.

In the complaint, a coalition of Latino advocates argued that Medi-Cal reimbursement rates are so low that many doctors refuse to take it, which impedes access to health care. Catha Worthman, an attorney on the case, said the fact that almost two-thirds of Medi-Cal recipients are Latino makes this a civil rights issue that violates the equal protection clause of the Affordable Care Act.

"You have a system that has been created which is separate and unequal in health care," said Worthman, a partner with Feinberg, Jackson, Worthman and Wasow. "Access is inferior in Medi-Cal compared to the general population and the law requires that it be equal."

One of the plaintiffs is a Los Angeles woman, Analilia Jimenez Perea, whose son has cerebral palsy. She said they had to wait a year and a half to find a neurologist who accepts Medi-Cal.

Right now, Worthman said, the Golden State only reimburses doctors who treat Medi-Cal patients about half of what the state pays for treating seniors on Medicare.

"We're seeking very particular remedies, which include raising the reimbursement rates," she said. "So. while the case charges discrimination, the remedies would benefit everybody on Medi-Cal."

The complaint does not speculate how much it would cost California to raise reimbursement rates enough to convince more doctors to take Medi-Cal. The Office of Civil Rights, part of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, is expected to open an investigation.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The National Cancer Institute has found red and processed meat consumption is associated with higher cancer levels. (Wikimedia Commons)

Social Issues

play sound

By Jessica Scott-Reid for Sentient.Broadcast version by Zamone Perez for Maryland News Connection reporting for the Sentient/Just and Climate-Friendly…


Environment

play sound

School districts and county governments across Texas are being encouraged to consider building decarbonization to combat climate change. The process …

play sound

Virginia has certain restrictions in place for workers handling animal waste in order to avoid contaminating groundwater sources. But one expert says …


The Prison Policy Initiative reports at least 28 states, including Alabama, have faced significant issues with bond forfeitures, raising concerns about accountability in the bail system. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Alabama lawmakers are weighing a proposal to overhaul the state's bail system. House Bill 42, sponsored by Sen. Christopher England, D-Tuscaloosa…

Environment

play sound

A bill in the Idaho Legislature would lower restrictions for allowing chickens in residential areas. The impetus for the legislation from Sen…

According to KFF News, Medicaid helps fill coverage gaps in smaller communities, covering nearly one in four (24%) nonelderly individuals in rural areas. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Minnesota's rural health-care landscape is described as being "stressed" - and the diagnosis could become grimmer if congressional Republicans keep th…

Social Issues

play sound

Community groups are coming together to expand voting rights to all Connecticut residents. The Connecticut Right to Vote Campaign says it aims to …

Social Issues

play sound

As spring approaches, faith leaders and advocates are raising alarms about inhumane heat conditions in U.S. prisons, especially in southern states …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021