Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al. v. Northern Arapaho Tribe
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, No. 21-8046 · judgment March 6, 2023
Before the decision, about 12.8× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a federal-government petitioner, counsel who has won certiorari before, and a circuit split argued in the petition.
Question presented
Consolidated with 23-250. The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, 25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq., permits eligible Indian tribes to contract with the federal government to assume responsibility for federal health care programs administered for the benefit of Indians. Upon entering into the contract, a tribe is entitled to the appropriated funds that the Indian Health Service (IHS) would have otherwise allocated to the federal program. 25 U.S.C. 5325(a)(1). The Act also requires IHS to pay "contract support costs"-funds "added to" that appropriated amount to cover the costs of activities the tribe must undertake to operate the transferred program, but which either "normally are not carried on" by IHS when acting as program operator, or which IHS would have "provided * * * from resources other than" the appropriated funds transferred under the contract. 25 U.S.C. 5325(a)(2). Separately, contracting tribes are permitted to collect payment from third-party payors-like private insurers, Medicare, and Medicaid-when they provide health care services to covered individuals. The question presented is as follows: Whether IHS must pay "contract support costs" not only to support IHS-funded activities, but also to support the tribe's expenditure of income collected from third parties.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General
For respondent
Adam G. Unikowsky
Jenner & Block LLP
Argument & decision
Argued March 25, 2024 — Caroline A. Flynn · Adam G. Unikowsky · Lloyd B. Miller. Audio and transcript
Decided June 6, 2024. Opinion by Roberts, C.J..
Proceedings
- Jul 08 2024Judgment Issued.
- Jun 06 2024Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Roberts, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, and Jackson, JJ., joined. Kavanaugh, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Thomas, Alito, and Barrett, JJ., joined. VIDED.
- Mar 25 2024Argued. For petitioners: Caroline A. Flynn, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondent in 23-253: Adam G. Unikowsky, Washington, D. C. For respondent in 23-250: Lloyd B. Miller, Washington, D. C. VIDED.
- Feb 14 2024CIRCULATED
- Feb 01 2024Record received from the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The record is electronic and is available on PACER.
- Jan 30 2024Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
- Jan 29 2024SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, March 25, 2024. VIDED.
- Nov 20 2023Petition GRANTED. The petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 23-250 is granted. The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument.
- Nov 20 2023Because the Court has consolidated these cases for briefing and oral argument, future filings and activity in the cases will now be reflected on the docket of No. 23-250. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 23-250. Each document submitted in connection with one or more of these cases must include on its cover the case number and caption for each case in which the filing is intended to be submitted. Where a filing is submitted in fewer than all of the cases, the docket entry will reflect the case number(s) in which the filing is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.”
- Nov 13 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/17/2023.
- Oct 24 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/9/2023.
- Oct 24 2023Reply of petitioners Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 20 2023Waiver of the 14-day waiting period for the distribution of the petition pursuant to Rule 15.5 filed by petitioners.
- Oct 11 2023Brief of Northern Arapaho Tribe filed.
- Sep 15 2023Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 16, 2023)
- Aug 21 2023Application (23A156) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from August 31, 2023 to September 20, 2023, submitted to Justice Gorsuch.
- Aug 21 2023Application (23A156) granted by Justice Gorsuch extending the time to file until September 20, 2023.