Final summer season, the Nationwide Affiliation for Dwelling Care & Hospice (NAHC) made waves when it filed a lawsuit in opposition to the Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Providers (CMS) and the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers (HHS) over its Medicare dwelling care fee calculations . .

Final week, a federal courtroom in Washington DC dismissed NAHC's lawsuit in opposition to CMS and HHS.

The lawsuit alleged that CMS and HHS used an “invalid” methodology to resolve fee, and that latest cuts to dwelling well being care have been illegal.

“The first declare in our lawsuit is that the methodology violates the plain language of the Medicare regulation,” NAHC wrote in its newest report.

CMS carried out a 3.925% charge discount for 2023 and a 2.89% charge discount for 2024.

On April 26, the U.S. District Courtroom for the District of Columbia dominated that NAHC skipped an company evaluate course of previous to a lawsuit.

“The Courtroom's ruling addresses a mix of the NAHC arguments and the defenses raised by the U.S. Division of Justice on behalf of CMS,” NAHC wrote. “DOJ argued that the Courtroom lacked jurisdiction to listen to any problem to PDGM's funds neutrality adjustment methodology, that NAHC failed to finish all administrative appeals, and that the challenged methodology was in step with the regulation.”

Nonetheless, NAHC famous that the Courtroom dominated in its favor on one thing it considers a vital a part of the case.

“[The court rejected] DOJ's argument that any judicial evaluate was barred from something associated to the PDGM system,” NAHC wrote. “The Courtroom particularly held that NAHC may problem the funds neutrality adjustment methodology as soon as administrative treatments have been exhausted. Of additional significance, the Courtroom didn’t rule on or assess the deserves of the NAHC declare that its methodology violated Medicare regulation.”

Final yr, the Biden administration requested a federal decide to dismiss NAHC's lawsuit in opposition to CMS and HHS.

Trying forward, NAHC is contemplating its subsequent step. One of many issues the group is considering is interesting in opposition to the courtroom's ruling on the exhaustion of administrative appeals.

Pursuing a request for expedited judicial evaluate from CMS can be on the desk. If a judicial evaluate is expedited, NAHC plans to refine the lawsuit.

“The Courtroom didn’t rule on the deserves of NAHC's claims that it violated the Medicare legal guidelines,” NAHC wrote. “As such, a lawsuit might proceed as soon as the executive steps are accomplished.”

In the end, NAHC President William A. Dombi believes the lawsuit's dismissal is a stumbling block, however one over which the group will prevail.

“We’re dissatisfied with the courtroom's ruling. Nevertheless, it’s a small setback that we will simply overcome,” Dombi mentioned within the report. “Typically justice is delayed whereas justice is denied. That is the place we are going to spend our day in courtroom. This struggle is much from over.”

Along with his position as president, Dombi was additionally authorized advisor to NAHC.