Public Provider Reimbursement Rule

A federal judge in U.S. District Court, Washington, D.C., has accepted arguments by nine plaintiffs that the CMS publication of a final Medicaid rule on reimbursement of public providers immediately after Congress passed (but before the President signed) a moratorium bill was improper. The legal implications of this are not yet known.  The court is expected to hand down a decision on the case by May 23.  The moratorium law expires on May 25. Legislation to extend the moratorium to April '09 was passed by the House, remains stalled in the Senate, and faces a possible veto.

Tom Entrikin

Tom Entrikin is a PCG manager and former Medicaid policy specialist with the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).