<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655309892600,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000177-1b39-d2c7-af7f-5fbf13ff0004","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655309892600,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000177-1b39-d2c7-af7f-5fbf13ff0004","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_55309888", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1032720"} }); ","_id":"00000181-6827-db25-adf7-783ff3c30000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video Embed
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in favor of a coalition of nonprofit hospitals seeking to restore billions of dollars that were cut by the government from annual Medicare reimbursements dating as far back as 2018.
In a unanimous ruling authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the high court found the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit erred in 2020 when it allowed the Department of Health and Human Services to reduce by $1.6 billion the yearly Medicare payments for outpatient drugs that aided in subsidizing hospitals that cater to poor and uninsured patients.
The decision was narrowly tailored and did not extend so far as to undermine HHS authority, only stating how the agency acted unlawfully in accordance with its varying rates for hospitals under the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which covers more than 2,500 hospitals and 25,000 pharmacies, according to a 2019 report from Adam Fein, the CEO of the Drug Channels Institute.
MAN ACCUSED IN KAVANAUGH BREAK-IN PLOT TEXTED SISTER BEFORE HIS SURRENDER: POLICE
“The text and structure of the statute make this a straightforward case,” Kavanaugh wrote. “Because HHS did not conduct a survey of hospitals’ acquisition costs, HHS acted unlawfully by reducing the reimbursement rates for 340B hospitals.”
The issue of the case centered on how the HHS established Medicare reimbursement rates for specific prescription drugs under the 340B program, which prompted the hospital coalition to challenge a rule established under President Donald Trump that lowered the rates.
In a statement praising the ruling, the American Hospital Association said it hopes it can work with the Biden administration to reimburse hospitals affected by the unlawful budgetary cuts by “ensuring the remainder of the hospital field is not disadvantaged as they also continue to serve their communities.”
Liz Mair, a Republican consultant who works on a variety of drug pricing matters, told the Washington Examiner the decision is both a “big victory” for not-for-profit hospitals that are part of the 340B program but also for “Trump’s most dedicated base — white, working class, rural voters who disproportionately rely on 340B providers.”
“From a raw political perspective, I think it’s interesting that the opinion was authored by the Supreme Court justice that Trump fought hardest to confirm: Kavanaugh,” Mair added.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Beginning in 2018, the HHS slashed reimbursement rates for hospitals in the 340B program by roughly a third of the cost and paid higher rates to other hospitals not under the program.
“In short, the statute allows HHS to set reimbursement rates based on average price and affords the agency discretion to ‘adjust’ the price up or down. But unless HHS conducts a survey of hospitals’ acquisition costs, HHS may not vary the reimbursement rates by hospital group,” Kavanaugh wrote.
