Alpha Home Health Solutions, LLC v. Sec'y of the U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs. & Adm'r for the Ctrs. for Medicare & Medicaid Servs.

340 F. Supp. 3d 1291
District Court, M.D. Florida·Decided November 27, 2018·No. Case No: 6:18-cv-1577-Orl-40TBS·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

PAUL BYRON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This cause is before the Court on Plaintiff Alpha Home Health Solutions, LLC's (hereafter "Alpha") Renewed Motion for Preliminary Injunction, (Doc. 12), and Defendants' Response in Opposition.1 (Doc. 21). Upon due consideration of the pleadings, and with the benefit of oral argument, Plaintiff's motion is denied.

I. BACKGROUND

Alpha is a home healthcare service provider with about twenty employees. (Doc. 1, ¶ 5). Alpha provides skilled nursing care, restorative therapy, and other medical services to approximately thirty-five patients in their homes, at assisted living facilities, and in retirement communities. (Id. ; Doc. 12, p. 1). Alpha currently employs approximately twenty people as either W-2 employees or independent contractors. (Doc. 1 at ¶ 14). Alpha is one of few agencies that provide specialized therapy services, including dementia management, lymphedema therapy, and vestibular rehabilitation. (Doc. 12-1, ¶ 5).

*1295Ms. Jennifer Tauro, owner and manager of Alpha, provided an affidavit in which she attests that approximately 90% of Alpha's revenue is received through Medicare reimbursement. (Doc. 1-1, ¶¶ 4-5). Alpha bills Medicare approximately $45,00.00 per month. (Id. at ¶ 7). On December 27, 2016, a government-contracted auditor initially estimated that Alpha had been overpaid $1,418,504.47. (Id. at ¶ 8). Alpha pursued its available administrative remedies, discussed in detail below, and on April 30, 2018 received a partially favorable decision which reduced the overpayment by half. (Id. at ¶¶ 9-10). Alpha made a timely demand for a hearing before an administrative law judge ("ALJ") to further contest the overpayment calculation. (Id. at pp. 117-19). By statute, a hearing must be held promptly before an ALJ, but the current backlog of pending cases has created a waiting period of between three and five years.2 (Doc. 12-1, ¶ 14).

To continue operating the business and providing services to patients, Ms. Tauro stopped drawing a salary and is using her personal resources to cover expenses. (Doc. 12-1, ¶ 15). Alpha has already been forced to reduce medical staff, from thirty full-time to four full-time equivalent employees and has reduced its patient list from 130 to 22 patients.3 (Id. at ¶ 16). Alpha has been compelled to lay off its remaining full-time marketers, further impacting the viability of its business. (Id. ). Alpha now seeks entry of a preliminary injunction to stay recoupment by the Defendants of $707,981.33 plus interest accruing at 9.625% per annum (currently exceeding $100,000). (Doc. 12, p. 1).

A. The Administrative Appeals Process

Under the Medicare program enacted in 1965 under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, the Medicare program reimburses Medicare providers for covered claims. 42 U.S.C. § 1395 et seq. Medicare claims for home healthcare services must be approved by the Department of Health and Human Services ("DHS"), which processes them through Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") and its Medicare Administrative Contractors ("MACs"). (Doc. 1, ¶ 8). "MACs are government contractors that process and make payments on valid claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1395kk-1(a)(3)." (Id. ). Alpha submits reimbursement claims to the MAC appointed to the Orlando, Florida, geographic area-Palmetto GBA, LLC ("Palmetto"). (Id. at ¶ 49).

Paid Medicare claims are subject to "post-payment review" by Zone Program Integrity Contractors ("ZPICs"). (Id. at ¶¶ 9-10). ZPICs generally use statistical sampling to calculate an estimated amount of overpayment. A healthcare agency can appeal post-payment claim denials via a four-level administrative appeals process before seeking review in front of a U.S. District Judge. See 42 U.S.C. § 1395ff. The four-step process proceeds as follows: first, a MAC reviews the denied claim for redetermination and must issue its decision within sixty days of the review request. Id. at § 1394ff(a)(3). Second, the health care agency can appeal the MAC's redetermination to a Qualified Independent Contractor ("QIC") within 180 days of the redetermination decision. Id. at § 1395ff(c). The QIC

*1296must issue its decision within sixty days of the reconsideration request. Id.

Following the first two review steps, the third avenue is to appeal the QIC reconsideration decision within sixty days of its receipt by requesting a hearing before an ALJ. Id. at § 1395ff(d)(1)(A). The statute requires the ALJ to hold the hearing and render a decision within ninety days of the healthcare provider's hearing request. Id. If an ALJ does not hold the hearing and render a decision in a timely manner, the healthcare provider may escalate its appeal to a fourth level of review before the Medical Appeals Council, but the provider is limited to the evidentiary record established in the prior levels of review. Id. at § 1395ff(d)(3)(A). The Appeals Council must render a decision or remand the case within ninety days of a timely review request. Id. at § 1395ff(d)(2)(A).

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Alpha Home Health Solutions, LLC v. Sec'y of the U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs. & Adm'r for the Ctrs. for Medicare & Medicaid Servs., 340 F. Supp. 3d 1291 (M.D. Fla. 2018).

340 F. Supp. 3d 1291 (Alpha Home Health Solutions, LLC v. Sec'y of the U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs. & Adm'r for the Ctrs. for Medicare & Medicaid Servs.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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