The Supreme Court Ruling That Blocked Providers From Seeking Higher Medicaid Payments Also Undercut The Entire Program
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-2015
ISSN
1544-5208
Publisher
Project Hope
Language
en-US
Abstract
In Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc ., the US Supreme Court revisited the question of whether Medicaid providers may seek relief in federal courts when states fail to pay “sufficient” Medicaid rates. A divided Supreme Court held that the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution does not support such actions, even when states violate the Medicaid Act of 1965. Payment sufficiency is vital to Medicaid’s success in expanding health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. By terminating providers’ ability to seek relief in federal courts, Armstrong makes it easier for states to cut Medicaid payment rates at the same time that millions of new enrollees will enter the program, undercutting operation of the Medicaid program and its role in health care reform.
Recommended Citation
Nicole Huberfeld,
The Supreme Court Ruling That Blocked Providers From Seeking Higher Medicaid Payments Also Undercut The Entire Program
,
34
Health Affairs
1156
(2015).
Available at:
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0138
