A federal district court judge in Washington this week held that, like the 2018 cuts to the reimbursement rate to 340B hospitals, the 2019 Medicare cuts were unlawful. The decision comes in a lawsuit filed by the AHA, other national groups and several regional hospital systems challenging Medicare rules that reduced payments under the drug discount program by 28.5 percent.
Although Judge Rudolph Contreras sided with the hospital groups, he did not grant the relief they requested, which included the difference between the amount they received under the 2018 and 2019 OPPS rules and the amount to which they are entitled.
Instead, he called for HHS to report back to the court on or before August 5 with recommendations for its proposed remedy.
