Akin Gump Secures Appeals Court Victory in Closely Watched Medicare Reimbursement Case
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(Washington, D.C.) – Akin Gump secured a victory before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today in the closely watched Medicare reimbursement case Allina Health Services et al. v. Kathleen Sebelius. The decision by the three-judge panel upholds a 2012 U.S. District Court decision vacating a 2004 Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) final rule that impacted Medicare reimbursement to hospitals for care to low-income patients.
In today’s decision, the court agreed with the District Court that the secretary’s final rule was not a logical outgrowth of the proposed rule and also rejected the government’s contention that the agency’s error was harmless. It, thus, found that the HHS secretary did not provide adequate notice and opportunity to comment before promulgating the 2004 rule and affirmed the District Court’s opinion vacating the rule.
Akin Gump health care partner Stephanie Webster and Hyland Hunt, a counsel in the firm’s litigation practice, represented the plaintiffs, with assistance from partner Christopher Keough and counsel Harry Richards.
Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 850 attorneys in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
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