In a case that involves hospitals across South Florida and the Tampa Bay area, the state Agency for Health Care Administration is appealing a judge’s ruling in a dispute about paying for emergency services for undocumented immigrants, reports the News Service of Florida.
AHCA filed a notice this month with the 1st District Court of Appeal that it will challenge a Dec. 21 ruling by Administrative Law Judge John D.C. Newton. The state’s Medicaid program pays hospitals for emergency services provided to undocumented immigrants, but the case focuses on the extent of services that should be covered. In the past, payments were made when emergency services were considered “medically necessary.” In 2010, AHCA began using a more-restrictive standard that said payments would be made until patients are “stabilized.” Newton, however, agreed with a coalition of hospitals that AHCA made the changes without going through a required rule-making process.
