Government Healthcare Policy, Business and Technology

Justices appear split on lawsuits over low Medicaid rates

Modern Healthcare: Some U.S. Supreme Court justices are skeptical, based on questions they posed Tuesday, that healthcare providers should be allowed to sue state Medicaid agencies over low reimbursement rates. Other justices, though, asked where providers can challenge rates if not in court.

The split made the outcome hard to gauge from the oral arguments in Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center Inc. Providers argue that the courts are an important avenue for challenging low rates—which they say lead to less access to care for Medicaid patients because too few providers are willing to participate. A number of states, however, counter that Congress has not authorized such lawsuits.

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