In County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court, the Supreme Court today holds that medical providers can assert a statutory claim against publicly operated health care service plans, just as they can sue privately operated plans, to get reimbursement for emergency services provided to plan enrollees. Santa Clara County, which operates a plan, had asserted that a separate statutory scheme — the Government Claims Act — immunizes it from reimbursement lawsuits when the provider doesn’t have a contract with the plan.