Skip to content
VerdictCONSULTING GROUP
Challenge to rulesFinal

Texas Medical Association v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (TMA II)

E.D. Tex. → 5th Cir. · Updated

Summary

Providers challenged the August 2022 final rule that again directed IDR entities to give the QPA special weight. The Eastern District of Texas vacated the challenged provisions on February 6, 2023, and the Fifth Circuit affirmed on August 2, 2024, agreeing that the rule placed a thumb on the scale for the QPA contrary to the statute.

Timeline of rulings

  1. 5th Cir.

    Affirmed the judgment vacating the challenged provisions of the final rule, including universal vacatur as the remedy.

    Read the ruling
  2. E.D. Tex.

    Summary judgment for plaintiffs; challenged provisions of the August 2022 final rule on how IDR entities weigh the QPA and other factors vacated.

    Read the ruling

Why it matters

The Fifth Circuit's affirmance confirmed that IDR entities must weigh the statutory factors without a regulatory preference for the QPA, shaping how arbitrators decide disputes nationwide.

Related insights

Sources

  1. TMA II, Opinion (5th Cir. Aug. 2, 2024)
  2. TMA II, Memorandum Opinion and Order (E.D. Tex. Feb. 6, 2023)
  3. O'Neill Institute tracker — TMA II (5th Cir.)

General information only, not legal advice. Verdict Consulting Group is not a law firm.