Hospital groups urge expedited appeals court review of 340B case

The AHA, joined by the Association of American Medical Colleges and America's Essential Hospitals, today urged a federal appeals court to expedite their appeal of a lower court’s December dismissal of the groups’ lawsuit that sought to prevent Medicare payment cuts for many hospitals in the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Today’s request asked that the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit establish an expedited schedule that would ensure completion of all briefing in the appeal by no later than the beginning of April and set a date for oral argument as soon as practicable upon completion of the briefing. The request to expedite briefing is joined by the hospitals that were part of the original lawsuit challenging the payment reduction – Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems in Brewer, ME, Henry Ford Health System in Detroit and Adventist Health System's Park Ridge Health in Hendersonville, NC. The lower court on Dec. 29 dismissed the lawsuit as premature, but it did not rule on the merits of the groups’ claim. The groups on Jan. 9 formally notified the court of their appeal.