This is the second time in two years that Holland & Knight has secured a money judgment against the state of Georgia on behalf of Grady Health System.
A Holland & Knight team recently handled an appeal to the Superior Court involving the Georgia Department of Community Health's decision to recoup $1.8 million in Medicaid funds for costs incurred at Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital from 1999 - 2002. The hospital is owned by Grady Health System, Georgia's largest public health system.
The Medicaid plan incorporates Medicare rules which require the regulator to recognize an individual hospital's method of cost allocation. In 2003, the state decided that it would recognize only its own method of cost allocation, and attempted to apply this decision retroactively to Hughes Spalding's cost reports for 1999-2002. The Superior Court of Fulton County sided with Holland & Knight, agreeing that it was improper for the state to engage in this sort of retroactive decision making.
"The Georgia Department of Community Health has essentially acted as if they could run the Medicaid program in any way they like," Charles Johnson (ATL) said. "We have repeatedly been forced to take them to court to establish that they have to follow their own rules and also abide by principles of due process."
The Holland & Knight team was led by Charles Johnson with the assistance of Joshua Bosin, Sarah Leopold, and Jane Warring (all ATL). If the court's decision holds, Grady will receive a refund of the $1.8 million they paid the state some time ago.
In 2005, the Atlanta Team secured a $6.4 million judgment for Grady as a result of the state's failure to follow another portion of its Medicaid rules relating to the federal Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Program.
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