The hospital, located within 10 miles of the New Hampshire-Vermont border, estimated Vermont reimburses it about 18 percent less per Medicaid patient than it does for Vermont hospitals.
Dartmouth-Hithcock lawyers contend unfair reimbursement for inpatient, outpatient and hospital teaching procedures cost the medical center more than $11 million annually.
The lawsuit also criticizes the federal government for approving Vermont’s reimbursement policy, which the hospital claims violated the Constitution.
A similar lawsuit regarding California’s lower Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for out-of-state hospitals was decided earlier this month in favor of the plaintiff hospitals. A district judge ruled California’s reimbursement policy unconstitutional, as it promoted discriminatory rate setting based on a hospital’s geographic location.
Vermont’s attorney general’s office is expected to file an official response to the lawsuit next week, according to the article.
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