AHA will seek enforcement of judgment of site-neutral court decision

The AHA, Association of American Medical Colleges and several member hospitals intend to immediately request that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia enforce its September ruling vacating a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rule reducing payments for hospital outpatient services provided in off-campus provider-based departments grandfathered under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. “Despite the Court’s Order, the 2020 [Outpatient Prospective Payment System] Rule purports to continue the two-year phase in of the site neutral policy that this Court expressly declared invalid and vacated,” the organizations said, notifying the court yesterday of their imminent motion. “…This is completely improper, and violates both this Court’s substantive ruling and its order denying the government’s motion for reconsideration.” They asked that the court expedite the briefing schedule to resolve their request before the final rule takes effect on Jan. 1.