A statewide coalition of doctors took the state to court Tuesday over compensation for emergency care. The lawsuit filed against the California Department of Health Care Services said Medi-Cal reimbursement rates have remained low over the past 17 years though the cost of providing care has nearly doubled. 

The doctors in the lawsuit have also said that they are treating many more underinsured as well as uninsured patients due to the closure of 85 hospitals and 55 emergency rooms in California over the past decade. According to the lawsuit in the 2007 alone they claim to have provided $100 million in unpaid services. 

The suit seeking class action status was filed in Superior Court on behalf of five groups, Centinela Freeman Emergency Medical Associates, Valley Presbyterian Emergency Medical Associates, Valley Emergency Medical Associates, Sutter Emergency Medical Associates and Valley Emergency Physicians Medical Group. These five groups are said to be are top providers of emergency care in the state. 

The lawsuit calls for restitution, unspecified damages and an order protecting the right of emergency room doctors to be "justly compensated." 

The Department of Health Care Services did not comment on the lawsuit. In a statement it said it supports health care reform in California that would benefit patients and physicians.