A federal court in Washington DC recently ruled against the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) in a lawsuit filed against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding a payment system that has significantly reduced reimbursements for numerous home health agencies since 2020. The US District Court for the District of Columbia made this decision in a memorandum opinion on April 26, stating that the plaintiffs did not follow proper procedures by failing to exhaust their administrative remedies before filing the lawsuit. As a result, the court ruled in favor of the federal government’s motion for summary judgment.
The ruling also denied NAHC’s own motion, which sought to have the payment system declared unlawful. The court indicated that the agency’s process for seeking expedited judicial review should have been pursued by the plaintiffs before resorting to legal action. By bypassing this process, the court found that the plaintiffs did not meet the necessary requirements to bring their case before it.
Despite this setback for NAHC and home health agencies affected by the payment system, it is important to note that following proper procedures is crucial when challenging government actions. By emphasizing the need to exhaust administrative remedies before seeking judicial review, this ruling serves as a reminder of these legal steps that must be taken in such cases. Moving forward, it is likely that NAHC and other organizations will be more careful to adhere to these procedures when challenging government policies in order to avoid similar outcomes in future cases.
