Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca11-24-11815/USCOURTS-ca11-24-11815-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Appellee
Daniel Woods
Appellant

Document Text:

[DO NOT PUBLISH]

In the

United States Court of Appeals

For the Eleventh Circuit

____________________

No. 24-11815

Non-Argument Calendar

____________________

DANIEL WOODS, 

Plaintiff-Appellant,

versus

SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES, 

Defendant-Appellee,

MAXIMUS MEDICARE PART C,

CARE IMPROVEMENT PLUS SOUTH CENTRAL 

INSURANCE CO,

OFFICE OF MEDICARE HEARINGS AND APPEALS, 

PERFORMANCE PROTHETICS AND ORTHOTICS, 

USCA11 Case: 24-11815 Document: 15-1 Date Filed: 01/13/2025 Page: 1 of 3
2 Opinion of the Court 24-11815

HANGER CLINIC, 

Appellees.

____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of Florida

D.C. Docket No. 3:23-cv-24700-TKW-ZCB

____________________

Before WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge, and JILL PRYOR and BRASHER, 

Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Daniel Woods, proceeding pro se, appeals the dismissal of his 

amended complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and, alternatively, for failure to state a claim. Woods argues that the district court had federal-question jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1331, over 

his complaint that Medicare’s failure to reimburse his shoe lifts for 

$306.25 constituted discrimination under the Affordable Care Act, 

42 U.S.C. § 18116(a), and that he stated a plausible claim of discrimination. We affirm the dismissal without prejudice of Woods’s 

complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

We review a dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction 

de novo. Soul Quest Church of Mother Earth, Inc. v. Att’y Gen., 92 F.4th 

953, 964 (11th Cir. 2023).

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24-11815 Opinion of the Court 3

The district court did not err in dismissing Woods’s complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The Medicare Act 

strips federal courts of federal-question jurisdiction over claims that 

arise under the Act and provides for proceedings before the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Dial v. 

Healthspring of Ala., Inc., 541 F.3d 1044, 1047 (11th Cir. 2008). A 

claim arises under the Act if it is “inextricably intertwined” with the 

enrollee’s claim for benefits, such as a request for a declaration that 

the Secretary’s policy is invalid and that expenses are reimbursable. 

Heckler v. Ringer, 466 U.S. 602, 614–15 (1984). The Act provides that 

an enrollee may seek judicial review of an agency decision regarding coverage only if he meets the amount in controversy requirement of $1,000, subject to adjustment for inflation since 2004. 42 

U.S.C. §§ 1395w-22(g)(5), 1395ff(b)(1)(E)(iii). Woods’s complaint

that Medicare’s failure to reimburse him amounted to discrimination is inextricably intertwined with his claim for Medicare benefits 

because he requests reimbursement and a declaration that the policy at issue is invalid. See Heckler, 466 U.S. at 614–15. And his claim 

for reimbursement of $306.25 fell short of the threshold to obtain 

federal judicial review. See 42 U.S.C. § 1395w-22(g)(5).

We AFFIRM the dismissal of Woods’s amended complaint

without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

USCA11 Case: 24-11815 Document: 15-1 Date Filed: 01/13/2025 Page: 3 of 3