Update: Haven Hospice Cap Suit

Yesterday (July 27, 2009), Judge Wu in the Federal court for the Central District  of California held a status conference to begin considering the proper form of judgment to follow his prior ruling July 13 holding the hospice cap regulation invalid.   Judge Wu considered some initial submissions by the parties, asked for further briefing, and reset the matter for August 6.  In the meantime, Haven Hospice’s FY 2006 repayment obligations remain suspended.  Haven Hospice is seeking a judgment that: (a) invalidates the current regulation; (b) sets it aside; (c) precludes the government from applying it to any hospice in future; and (d) sets aside the prior calculation for FY 2006 as to Haven Hospice.  Please note: Even if Haven Hospice gets all of the relief it seeks, this judgment will not preserve other hospice’s appeal rights as to cap demands that are issued prior to the entry of such judgment.  For this reason, it remains important for hospices that might benefit from a correct proportional allocation of cap allowances to seek counsel and timely file a PRRB appeal of any such demand.

For further information, read NAHA posts Federal Court Suspends Cap Demand and Federal Court Rules Cap Regulation Invalid (Again).