- Dozens of safety-net hospitals across five states filed a lawsuit last week against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), alleging that yearslong delays in correcting Medicare disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments have cost them “tens of millions” of dollars. DSH payments are intended to offset the costs incurred by hospitals that largely serve low-income patients. Following a Washington, D.C., federal court’s 2008 ruling that affirmed a Massachusetts hospital’s challenge of the DSH payment methodology, HHS was required to send DSH payment appeals to the agency’s contractors, who were tasked with making the hospitals whole. But the agency’s contractors have not made those payment redetermination calculations nor paid any of the hospitals, the complaint alleges. (Article here)
March 21, 2023
Providers | Tea Leaves