Plain-English summary
Court upholds HHS rule on hospital days counted for higher Medicare payments
The Court affirmed the D.C. Circuit, holding that HHS acted within its authority in how it counts inpatient days when calculating higher Medicare payments for hospitals that serve many low-income patients. The decision leaves the agency’s reimbursement method intact.
Why this matters
DSH payments help hospitals that treat large numbers of low-income patients cover higher costs. The Court’s ruling preserves the current HHS method for calculating those payments, affecting hospital budgets, patient access to care in low-income communities, and how agencies interpret ambiguous statutes.
Who may feel it
- Safety-net hospitals and health systems that serve many low-income patients
- Hospital administrators and state Medicaid agencies
- Medicare program administrators and taxpayers
- Low-income patients who rely on hospitals with high DSH payments
Key questions
- How should the Department of Health and Human Services count inpatient days when calculating Medicare DSH payments?
- Was HHS’s interpretation of the statutory formula a permissible reading of the law (i.e., reasonable and within the agency’s authority)?