On Thursday, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner blocked Sacramento County from following through on a plan to close indigent health care clinics, the Sacramento Bee reports.
The clinics provide health services to low-income county residents who are ineligible for other medical coverage programs.
The closures were set to take effect this weekend, when Sacramento County begins its new fiscal year. Cuts to the clinics and other primary care services were projected to reduce county spending by $7.8 million.
Two low-income county residents and a Sacramento not-for-profit organization sued the county over concerns that the closures would put low-income residents at risk and lead to inadequate medical care.
Sumner granted the plaintiffs a temporary restraining order and said the clinics will remain open for now.
Stacey Wittorff -- an attorney with the Legal Services of Northern California, which represents the plaintiffs -- said the cuts would not take effect without a preliminary injunction hearing (Lewis, Sacramento Bee, 7/2).