Justices Skeptical of HHS Changes to Hospitals’ Extra Payments

A majority of justices on the Supreme Court seemed reluctant Monday to reinstate a 2005 rule that in many cases decreased the amount of additional Medicare payments hospitals get for serving a larger share of poor patients.

The case was a complicated one that seemed to frustrate the justices during the hour-long arguments. Justice Clarence Thomas called the language in the rule indecipherable, Justice Stephen Breyer said he was exhausted by the dispute, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh rattled off at least five problems with the Department of Health and Human Services regulation.

“We’ve whacked agency rules for much less than ...