Analysts disagree whether death of healthcare reform could mean recoupment of provider funding
The U.S. Supreme Court building
Some healthcare analysts are proposing that Medicare providers, including nursing homes, could recoup millions of dollars if the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would have to retroactively reimburse providers if the law is invalidated, one provider attorney, John Hellow of Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, told the Bureau of National Affairs.
But providers should not necessarily get their hopes up: other experts told BNA that there's little chance of recouping the money, and groups such as the American Hospital Association say providers will not be able to get back reimbursements if the law is struck down. More realistic, analysts say, is that future reimbursement cuts wouldn't occur.
Nursing homes and home health saw lower nursing home market basket increases under the ACA. That resulted in reimbursement cuts worth about $500 million between 2010 and 2012 to nursing homes, according to the American Health Care Association.
