No Re-do of Class Certification for HHS in Medicare Case

Individuals alleging Health and Human Services Department policies meant Medicare-eligible people discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities had to pay for their own treatment may proceed as a class.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut June 4 denied the HHS’s motion for reconsideration of a ruling refusing to decertify a class of people who claimed they should have had a say in whether they were designated as inpatients or observation-only patients while in a hospital.

A patient’s designation is important because Medicare pays for skilled nursing facility care only for patients discharged to an SNF after ...