Asante, et al. v. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al.

Under 42 C.F.R. § 431.52(b), a State’s Medicaid plan must “pay for services furnished in another State to the same extent that it would pay for services furnished within its boundaries if the services are furnished to a beneficiary who is a resident of the State.” Petitioners are “border hospitals” in neighboring states who are located within 55 miles of California and treat a substantial number of California Medicaid (Medi-Cal) patients. Despite Section 431.52(b)’s clear equal-payment mandate, Medi-Cal pays out-of-state hospitals less than in-state hospitals for furnishing the same care to California residents. Specifically, California denies out-of-state hospitals that treat Medi-Cal patients any portion of the more than $4 billion in additional federal supplemental funds that California distributes only to in-state hospitals. The question presented is: Whether a State’s Medicaid program violates 42 C.F.R. § 431.52(b)’s equal-payment requirement by denying supplemental payments to out-of-state hospitals, thereby paying in-state hospitals more than out-ofstate hospitals that furnish the same services to the State’s Medicaid patients. (i)