United States v. West Virginia

238 F. Supp. 2d 751, 29 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 1696, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22011, 2002 WL 31545865
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. West Virginia
DecidedAugust 5, 2002
DocketNo. CIV.A. 2:99-1138
StatusPublished

This text of 238 F. Supp. 2d 751 (United States v. West Virginia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. West Virginia, 238 F. Supp. 2d 751, 29 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 1696, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22011, 2002 WL 31545865 (S.D.W. Va. 2002).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

HALLANAN, Senior District Judge.

Currently pending before the Court is Plaintiff and Third Party Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment and Plaintiff and Third Party Defendants’ Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgment. In response, Defen-dani/Third Party Plaintiff filed its Response to Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment and Plaintiff and Third Party Defendants filed Plaintiff and Third Party Defendants’ Reply Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgment. Also currently pending before the Court is Defendant/Third Party Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment and Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment. In response, Plaintiff and Third Party Defendants filed Plaintiff and Third Party Defendants’ Memorandum of Law in Opposition to West Virginia’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Defendant/Third Party Plaintiff filed its Reply Memorandum in Support of West Virginia’s Motion for Summary Judgment. Having reviewed said motions, all memoranda both in support and opposition, as well as all relevant case and statutory law, the Court hereby GRANTS Plaintiff and Third Party Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, DENIES Defendant/Third Party Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment, and DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE the Third Party Complaint.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The Federal Employee Health Benefits Act (“FEHBA”) provides health benefits for federal employees, their families, and [754]*754federal retirees. 5 U.S.C. § 8901 et seq. The program is administered by the Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”), which contracts with various health benefits carriers to offer health benefits plans to those who enroll in the program. 5 U.S.C. §§ 8902, 8903. The Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (“FEHBP” or “the program”) is funded by contributions from enrollees and matching contributions from the federal government, which are, in turn, placed into a specifically designated account in the United States Treasury, entitled the Employee Health Benefits Fund (“the Fund”). 5 U.S.C. §§ 8906, 8909. Participating health benefits carriers receive payments and reimbursements directly from said Fund.

Congress amended FEHBA as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, Pub.L. 101-508, § 7002(c). The amended language, which preempts certain state taxes that are imposed directly or indirectly on the Fund, reads as follows:

(1) No tax, fee, or other monetary payment may be imposed, directly or indirectly, on a carrier or an underwriting or plan administration subcontractor of an approved health benefits plan by any State, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or by any political subdivision or other governmental authority thereof, with respect to any payment made from the Fund.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to exempt any carrier or underwriting or plan administration subcontractor of an approved health benefits plan from the imposition, payment or collection of a tax, fee, or other monetary payment on the net income or profit accruing to or realized by such carrier or underwriting or plan administration subcontractor from business conducted under this chapter, if that tax, fee, or payment is applicable to a broad range of business activity.

5 U.S.C. § 8909(f).

In 1993, West Virginia’s State Legislature passed the West Virginia Health Care Provider Tax Act of 1993 (“the Provider Tax Act”). The Provider Tax Act imposes a tax on the gross receipts of most of the State’s health care providers, including, but not limited to, taxing providers of physicians’ services, out-patient hospital services, in-patient hospital services, nursing services, optometric services, dental services, and ambulatory surgical centers. W.Va.Code § 11-27 et seq. The revenue collected as a result of the Provider Tax Act is deposited into the special revenue fund created in the State treasurer’s office, known as the medicaid state share fund. W.Va.Code § ll-27-32(a). As Plaintiff and Third Party Defendants’ (hereinafter “the United States”) brief indicates, the Provider Tax Act “does not exempt gross receipts for health care services provided to FEHBP enrollees.” (PI. and Third Party Defs.’ Mem. of Law in Supp. of Their Mot. for Summ. J. at 5). Therefore, it is the United States’ position that FEHBA prevents West Virginia from imposing the aforementioned tax, as said tax is allegedly imposed indirectly on participating FEH-BA carriers without qualifying as a “broad range of business activity” exemption, in violation of 5 U.S.C. § 8901(f)(1),(2). In response, Defendant/Third Party Plaintiff (hereinafter ‘West Virginia”) asserts that the Provider Tax Act is permissible pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1396b(w) and furthermore, that FEHBA is superceded by 42 U.S.C. § 1396b(w).

Pursuant to federal Medicaid law, 42 U.S.C. § 1396b, for every dollar the State of West Virginia spends on health care for Medicaid recipients, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services matches the dollar spent with approximately three federal [755]*755dollars. 65 Fed.Reg. 69,560 (Nov. 17, 2000). In 1993, Congress enacted 42 U.S.C. § 1396b(w), which provides for the reduction of matching federal dollars paid to a state by the sum of any revenues received by that state in the form of any health care related tax that is not “broad-based.” 42 U.S.C. § 1396b(w)(l)(A). The term “broad-based health care related tax” is defined as follows:

[A] health care related tax which is imposed with respect to a class of health care items or services ... or with respect to providers of such items or services and which ...
(i) is imposed at least with respect to all items or services in the class furnished by all non-Federal, nonpublic providers in the State (or, in the case of a tax imposed by a unit of local government, the area over which the unit has jurisdiction) or is imposed with respect to all non-Federal, nonpublic providers in the class; and
(ii) is imposed uniformly (in accordance with subparagraph (Q).

42 U.S.C. § 1896b(w)(3)(B).

On December 20, 2001, the Court entered a Joint Stipulation of the Parties wherein the parties stipulated that, inter alia, “Morgan County War Memorial Hospital currently passes on the cost of West Virginia’s health care provider taxes found at West Virginia Code section 11-27 et seq.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
California Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Guerra
479 U.S. 272 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Barnett Bank of Marion County, N. A. v. Nelson
517 U.S. 25 (Supreme Court, 1996)
Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly
533 U.S. 525 (Supreme Court, 2001)
The Travelers Insurance Company v. Cuomo
14 F.3d 708 (Second Circuit, 1994)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
238 F. Supp. 2d 751, 29 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 1696, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22011, 2002 WL 31545865, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-west-virginia-wvsd-2002.