The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Health Care Services, alleging that the department violated federal and state laws during the contract process for the provision of services to Medi-Cal recipients living with AIDS, CBS2 reports. The suit also alleges that DHCS officials infringed AHF's rights to freedom of speech and expression during the contract renewal process. AHF alleges that these steps were taken as "retribution" for its advocacy work, CBS2 reports.

AHF also claims that legal action is necessary because the department did not follow federal and state regulations when setting rates to cover per-patient monthly costs for Medi-Cal recipients enrolled in AHF's Positive Healthcare program. DHCS spokesperson Norman Williams said that he could not comment on the case specifically, adding, "DHCS offered a rate that was the maximum allowed by law. It's an important program, and we negotiated for quite some time to continue it, but AHF sought a rate above what the law allows us to pay" (CBS2, 2/19).

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