AHA to court: HHS' arguments for missing appeals deadlines lack merit

The Department of Health and Human Services offers meritless arguments to avoid an order to abide by the statutory deadlines for Administrative Law Judge review of Medicare claims appeals, the AHA and three hospital members told the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today, responding to the agency’s reaction to their appeal for mandamus relief. “[D]espite acknowledging the agency’s egregious statutory violations, [the HHS Secretary] throws up her hands and claims that ‘it is currently impossible…to adjudicate claims’ in accordance with statutory deadlines,” the brief states. “The Secretary has many options available to her to resolve this backlog. And in any event, this Court has flatly rejected such fatalism in the past. There is no ‘impossibility’ exception to mandamus.” The appeal is AHA v. Burwell (No. 15-5015).