Coastal Community Hospital v. Belshe

[393]

Opinion

ARMSTRONG, J.

Petitioners and appellants Coastal Community Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital of Orange appeal the trial court’s denial of their petitions for writs of mandate by which petitioners sought to reverse the administrative decisions of the Department of Health Services (the Department) to accept petitioners’ Medi-Cal cost reports “as filed,” and to order the Department to accept petitioners’ appeals of those costs reports. Petitioners find authority for these administrative appeal rights in Welfare and Institutions Code section 14171, subdivision (a).

1

We do not, and affirm the trial court.

Facts

Petitioners are hospitals participating in California’s Medi-Cal program, Welfare and Institutions Code section 14000 et seq. As such, they are required to submit cost reports to the Department at the end of each fiscal year, detailing the cost of Medi-Cal services provided, the number of Medi-Cal beneficiaries served, and the amount owed, to the health care provider or to the Department, under the program.

On June 27, 1988, petitioner Coastal Community Hospital submitted a cost report for its fiscal year ended March 31, 1988. The Department accepted the cost report as filed on October 6, 1989. Coastal sought to appeal the Department’s decision to accept the cost report on February 26, 1990, and an administrative hearing was held on May 23, 1990.

Petitioner St. Joseph Hospital of Orange submitted cost reports for its fiscal years ended June 30 of 1987 and 1988. St. Joseph’s cost report for fiscal year 1987 was filed within the prescribed time period after the end of the fiscal year. When the Department initially reviewed this cost report, it discovered that the report was not complete and could therefore not be accepted for processing. St. Joseph provided all of the additional information requested by the Department to complete the cost report by March 31, 1988. The Department accepted this corrected cost report for processing on September 26, 1988, and accepted the report as filed on September 1, 1989. St. Joseph filed an administrative appeal of the Department’s actions on January 14, 1991; the administrative hearing was held on April 16, 1991.