nhpco rate cut lawsuit dismissed

The lawsuit filed against Medicare by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization has been dismissed. As I understand it, the case was dismissed without any comment on the actual claims of the case, because the judge felt like hospice providers should appeal Medicare’s decision directly (through an internal Medicare appeals process) before the lawsuit should be considered. You can read the NHPCO press release yourself.

In the meantime, the rate cut has taken effect and we continue to care for patients with less money than we would have had if Medicare would have done nothing. Not sure what the next step is, but I’m hoping the fight isn’t over. Will President Obama and the Democrat majority come to our rescue? Guess we’ll find out early next year.