Hospitals’ Medicaid appeal options may be more limited after court ruling

Hospitals’ Medicaid appeal options may be more limited after court ruling

A recent appeals-court ruling restricts options for hospitals seeking to use litigation to ensure prompt Medicaid payment. The March 14 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Saint Anthony Hospital v. Whitehorn essentially states that hospitals do not have a legal right to sue state Medicaid programs under federal law to obtain timely payment. Chicago-based Saint Anthony Hospital, a safety-net facility, brought litigation…