The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a motion Jan. 30 for an expedited briefing on the lawsuit that the AAMC, American Hospital Association, and America’s Essential Hospitals filed against the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to prevent the Medicare payment cuts to many 340B hospitals under the Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System final rule [see Washington Highlights, Nov. 3]. The briefing will be completed by April 2. The date for oral arguments has not yet been set by the appeals court.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Dec. 29 dismissed the lawsuit, finding that it was premature for the court to have jurisdiction in the case because no claim for reimbursement under the new rule had been submitted [see Washington Highlights, Jan. 5]. Since the case was dismissed for jurisdictional reasons, the judge did not address the merits of the arguments presented by the plaintiffs.