Services for needy restored

California has been ordered by a federal appeals court to restore key services for Medi-Cal patients treated at health clinics serving the state’s neediest populations.

The state cut adult dental care, optometry, podiatry and chiropractic services for all Medi-Cal patients in 2009, as they were deemed optional for states under the federal Medicaid program, according to SFGate.com. On July 5, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that eliminating the services violated the Medicaid law’s provisions for a network of health clinics serving rural areas and federally funded health centers serving the homeless, migrant workers and residents of public housing.

The patients of such clinics represent nearly two-thirds of the state’s visits for Medi-Cal treatment each year.