On December 29, 2011, U. S District Court Judge Christina Snyder ruled that "California can't cut reimbursements hospitals receive for the skilled-nursing services they provide to low-income people." Both state and federal officials had approved the cuts based on the reasoning that patients could utilize free-standing skilled nursing facilities.  But Judge Snyder concluded that state and federal officials "likely relied on unreasonable projections and faulty reasoning about how the cuts would affect frail patients".  The case is California Hospital Association v. Douglas, 11-09078, US District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles).