CMS Appeals Ruling That Allows Patients To Contest Observation Status

CMS on Friday (May 22) appealed a federal judge’s ruling that said Medicare beneficiaries who are initially admitted as hospital inpatients have a constitutional right to challenge the hospital’s subsequent decision to place them under observation. The long-running lawsuit now heads back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, which ruled partially in favor of the beneficiaries at an earlier stage in the litigation. The class action lawsuit was brought by beneficiaries who received hospital care while...