On March 21, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held a hearing in the consolidated Association of Air Medical Services v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al. case (the court consolidated the Association of Air Medical Services and American Medical Association (AMA)/American Hospital Association (AHA) lawsuits into a single action). This case involves similar issues as those considered by the court in the TMA lawsuit. In January, the AANS and the CNS filed an amicus brief, along with the Physician Advocacy Institute, supporting the AMA/AHA lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon suggested that he is in no hurry to issue a ruling, pending the Biden Administration’s decision on whether to appeal the Texas case and how it handles this issue in the final rule, which is expected to be issued in May. The final rule could make the lawsuits irrelevant.
