The lawsuit contends that a flawed financial structure for the State’s emergency departments is putting the entire system at risk of collapse. It alleges 1) Violations of the Equal Protection Clause; 2) Unlawful Taking of Property for Public Use; 3) Violations of both the Federal Social Security Act and California’s Medicaid Act; and 4) Unjust enrichment

Emergency room physicians subsidized California with more than $100 million in services provided to Medi-Cal patients in 2007 alone. Over the past decade the cost of providing emergency room treatment has nearly doubled while the patient load has increased by more than 28%. Yet, during this period, Medi-Cal reimbursements have remained largely stagnant.

"In simplest terms, The State has shifted the cost of providing emergency room care from the state to the physicians. This unfair, unjust and illegal action has placed our emergency room system into a state of crisis," explains Boucher. "Physicians, required by state and federal law to provide emergency room services, receive reimbursement from the state at rates that are significantly below the cost of care. Emergency room doctors are the only doctors who are required by the state to lose money."