Court Opinion

ID: 9497624
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:56:02.146503+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:58:18.880974
License: Public Domain

COOK, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I would affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Secretary for the reasons stated in that court’s opinion. The majority reaches its well-intentioned conclusion in this case without reconciling its departure from the national coverage decision (NCD) that mandated denial of Guzzo’s claim, with the governing statutory and regulatory framework of the Medicare Act. The majority’s opinion instead accords force of law to a “Decision Memorandum” that forecasted a likely change in the controlling NCD, though Guzzo’s ineligibility was fixed by the NCD in effect at the time of his surgery.