Hospitals’ Medicare Reimbursement Suit Tossed Over Jurisdiction

A federal court dismissed a duo of Medicare payment challenges because the affected hospitals failed to complete the agency’s internal appeals process.

The US District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday dismissed two consolidated payment lawsuits filed by New Jersey-based Hackensack Meridian Health system for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the plaintiffs failed to exhaust administrative remedies with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ internal appeal board.

The lawsuits claimed the agency withheld demographic data that allowed hospitals to determine whether bonus payments for serving low-income patients were properly calculated.

The CMS calculates payments to hospitals ...