Justices Reject Hospitals’ Bid for Higher Medicare Payments (1)

The US Supreme Court Tuesday ruled in favor of the US health department in a case that challenged the bounds of eligibility for enhanced hospital reimbursement under the Medicare program.

By a 7-2 decision in the case, Advocate Christ Medical Center v. Kennedy, the justices upheld an appeals court ruling that the hospitals, which serve a large share of low-income Medicare beneficiaries, aren’t eligible to receive a higher Medicare disproportionate share payment adjustment, or DSH payment.

The case revolved around the meaning of the phrase “entitled to benefits,” and involved the federal Supplemental Security Income program for low-income disabled ...