In its 2022 decision in Becerra v. Empire Health Foundation, for Valley Hospital Medical Center, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the phrase “entitled to [Medicare Part A] benefits” applied to “all those qualifying for the program, regardless of whether they are receiving Medicare payments for part or all of a hospital stay.” 597 U. S. 424, 445 (2022) (quoting §1395ww(d)(5)(F)(vi)(I); alteration in original).
In doing so, the Court left open the question of what it means to be “entitled to supplementary security income [SSI] benefits . . . under subchapter XVI.” §1395ww(d)(5)(F)(vi)(I).
Today, in Advocate Christ Medical Center v. Kennedy, the Court, in a 7–2 decision (with Justice Barrett writing for the majority and Justice Jackson, joined by Justice Sotomayor, dissenting), held “that a person is entitled to such benefits when she is eligible to receive a cash payment during the month of her hospitalization.” Today’s decision continues the unbroken string of losses that the petitioner hospitals have suffered in this litigation at both the administrative and judicial levels.
Blog Editors
Recent Updates
- Term Begins with Easy Unanimity, a Condition Soon to Be Forgotten - SCOTUS Today
- Service and Justice: Veterans in Law – Speaking of Litigation Video Podcast
- Sixth Circuit Says It Again: Outside Counsel’s Internal Investigations Are Privileged and Protected from Disclosure
- Eleventh Circuit Allows Qui Tam Relators to Avoid Complaint Dismissal by Using Information Obtained in Discovery
- EDPA Strengthens Its Approach to White-Collar Enforcement