United States Solicitor General Urges Supreme Court to Deny Review of Medicaid Payment Case - December 14, 2010

Neal Kumar Katyal, the acting Solicitor General of the United States, on Dec. 3 submitted a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court recommending that the Court deny a writ of certiorari for review of the case Maxwell-Jolly v. Independent Living Center of Southern California, Inc. The case involves a proposed 10 percent reduction in Medi-Cal payments to health care providers in California in order to cut state spending. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that the reduction violated Medicaid laws requiring reimbursement rates to be set at levels that ensure equal access to care. California is appealing the decision to the Supreme Court, which asked the Solicitor General to weigh in on whether or not the Court should grant a writ for review. The Solicitor General recommended for the Court not to review the case because the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will soon be issuing rules to develop “authoritative guidance” on issues at play in the case. Hospital groups, including NAPH, are opposed to review by the Supreme Court due to the significant implications on providers in California and elsewhere, and this summer NAPH issued a letter to the Solicitor General urging him to recommend a denial of California’s appeal.