Azar v. Allina Health Services
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 3, 2019 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Decided
- June 3, 2019
- Term
- October Term 2018
- Vote
- 7–1
- Majority author
- Justice Gorsuch
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice GORSUCH delivered the opinion of the Court. One way or another, Medicare touches the lives of nearly all Americans. Recognizing this reality, Congress has told the government that, when it wishes to establish or change a "substantive legal standard" affecting Medicare benefits, it must first afford the public notice and a chance to comment. 42 U.S.C. § 1395hh(a)(2). In 2014, the government revealed a new policy on its website that dramatically-and retroactively-reduced payments to hospitals serving low-income patients. Because affected members of the public received no advance warning and no chance to comment first, and because the government has not identified a lawful excuse for neglecting its statutory notice-and-comment obligations, we agree with the court of appeals that the new policy cannot stand. I Today, Medicare stands as the largest federal program after Social Security. It spends about $ 700 billion annually to provide health insurance for nearly 60 million aged or disabled Americans, nearly one-fifth of the Nation's population. Needless to say, even seemingly modest modifications to the program can affect the lives of millions. As Medicare has grown, so has Congress's interest in ensuring that the public has a chance to be heard before changes are made to its administration. As originally enacted in 1965, the Medicare Act didn't address the possibility of…
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