Hospitals’ Medicare Payment Lawsuit Sent Back to Agency’s Panel

A federal judge in the nation’s capital has ordered a lawsuit by more than 200 hospitals challenging a Medicare methodology for determining payments to be remanded to a US Department of Health and Human Services appeals board for further proceedings.

The memorandum opinion in the case was issued Dec. 20 by Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the US District Court for the District of Columbia. It denies the government’s motion for summary judgment, and grants the plaintiff’s summary judgment motion “as to the board’s jurisdiction.”

The plaintiff hospitals allege that the Medicare hospital reimbursement system has miscalculated certain figures, called ...