Justices Keep Medicare Payment Changes for Low-Income Hospitals (1)

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a 2005 rule that decreased the amount of additional Medicare payments hospitals get for serving a larger share of poor patients.

The decision means some providers may not be able to recoup the higher costs they say they spend treating low-income patients.

In a split 5-4 decision, the court said Department of Health and Human Services regulation is consistent with the text, context, and structure of the DSH provisions. The court held in calculating the Medicare fraction that individuals “entitled to Medicare Part A benefits” are all those qualifying for the program, regardless of ...