Court Opinion

ID: 9381880
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-03-24 05:04:45.128099+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:35.217607
License: Public Domain

If this opinion indicates that it is “FOR PUBLICATION,” it is subject to
                 revision until final publication in the Michigan Appeals Reports.

                          STATE OF MICHIGAN

                           COURT OF APPEALS

MAPLE MANOR REHAB CENTER OF WAYNE                                   UNPUBLISHED
and MAPLE MANOR REHAB CENTER OF NOVI,                               March 23, 2023

               Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v                                                                   No. 359235
                                                                    Court of Claims
DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY and                                          LC No. 21-000077-MZ
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES,

               Defendants-Appellees.

Before: GADOLA, P.J., and GARRETT and FEENEY, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

       In this declaratory judgment action involving the alleged overpayment of certain taxes
under Michigan’s Medicare program, plaintiffs Maple Manor Rehab Center of Wayne and Maple
Manor Rehab Center of Novi (collectively referred to as “Maple Manor”) appeal by right the Court
of Claims’ opinion and order granting summary disposition in favor of the Department of Health
and Human Services (DHHS).1 We affirm.

1
  The Court of Claims’ opinion and order also granted summary disposition in favor of the
Department of Treasury. We have jurisdiction over Treasury because Maple Manor was
“aggrieved” by the Court of Claims’ ruling that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over Treasury
with respect to the QAA and QMI assessments. See MCR 7.203(A). While Treasury has filed an
appellee brief arguing that this decision should be affirmed, Maple Manor does not challenge the
Court of Claims’ decision in this regard and makes no argument regarding Treasury. Because
Maple Manor does not contest the decision as to Treasury, we do not consider the substantive
merits of the arguments Treasury raises. See Rohl v Leone, 258 Mich App 72, 77; 669 NW2d 579
(2003) (“[A]n appeal is limited to the issues raised by the appellant, unless the appellee cross-
appeals as provided in MCR 7.207.”).

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                                       I. BACKGROUND

       This is the second case in which Maple Manor, which operates postacute care facilities
located in Wayne and Novi, Michigan, challenges the Medicaid Long-Term Care Quality
Assurance Assessment (QAA) tax, MCL 333.20161, as well as the Quality Measures Initiative
(QMI) tax. As explained in Maple Manor Rehab Ctr, LLC v Dep’t of Treasury, 333 Mich App
154, 157; 958 NW2d 894 (2020) (“Maple Manor I”), as participants in Michigan’s Medicare
program, Maple Manor is subject to the QAA. This Court explained:

       The QAA is collected in order to secure matching federal funds: MCL 333.20161
       and 42 CFR 433.68 provide that the QAA and matching federal funds are to “be
       used to finance Medicaid nursing home reimbursement payments.” MCL
       333.20161(11)(a). . . . . The QAA is assessed on the basis of the total number of
       days of patient care that a nursing home or hospital long-term care unit gives to
       non-Medicare patients. MCL 333.20161(11)(b). The QAA excludes from
       assessment the days of care given to residents in assisted living beds and the days
       of care given to Medicare beneficiaries. See MCL 333.20161(11)(b). To determine
       the amount due, providers submit annual Medicare cost reports to the . . . [DHHS],
       which then calculates the facilities’ QAA liability. [Maple Manor I, 333 Mich App
       at 157.]

The QMI, in turn, is a subpart of the QAA program and is also used to finance Medicaid nursing
home reimbursement payments. Like the QAA, the QMI is assessed on the basis of the total
number of days of patient care that a nursing home or hospital long-term care unit gives to non-
Medicare patients, MCL 333.20161(11)(b), and a provider’s liability for the QMI is assessed by
DHHS upon submission of the annual Medicare cost report.

        For the October 2018 to September 2019 fiscal year, DHHS initiated the process of
determining Maple Manor’s QAA and QMI taxes by sending a letter to Maple Manor requesting
Maple Manor’s 2017 cost report. When Maple Manor failed to respond, DHHS sent another letter
six months later, in June 2018, again requesting the cost report, indicating that it was delinquent
and that monthly Medicaid payments would be withheld. When DHHS still received no response,
it sent another letter the next month, July 2018, providing the same information and again
requesting the cost report. In that same month, an auditor of the DHHS e-mailed Maple Manor
twice requesting the cost report for the 2017 fiscal year.

       Maple Manor eventually responded in July 2018, indicating in a letter that Maple Manor
Novi had no Medicaid utilization during the cost report period and that it was submitting this
statement in lieu of a cost report.2 The letter further indicated that Maple Manor Novi’s total non-
Medicare days were 1,821 days. DHHS, via letter dated July 23, 2018, accepted Maple Manor’s

2
  The parties dispute when Maple Manor’s letter was received, with Maple Manor indicating it
was received in May 2018, consistent with the date on the letter, and DHHS indicating it was
received in July 2018, consistent with its response to the letter a few days later. The dispute,
however, is not material.

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request not to file a cost report because Maple Manor provided no Medicaid services during the
reporting period.

        However, three days later, the DHHS sent Maple Manor a letter requesting that Maple
Manor submit a “Certification Statement” and “Statistical Data Worksheets” for purposes of
calculating the QAA and QMI. DHHS requested the data no later than August 27, 2018, and
indicated that “[p]roviders that do not submit these schedules from its Medicare cost report by this
date will have its assessment calculation based on the total facility census (365 days times the
number of facility beds).” Maple Manor did not respond to this request.

       Consequently, on December 12, 2018, DHHS sent Maple Manor separate QAA and QMI
notices of assessment of $26,280 based on Maple Manor’s total facility census, i.e., 365 days
multiplied by 72, the number of beds. The notices indicated:

       The facility has until December 22, 2018 to notify this officer in writing of a
       disagreement with the total number of non-Medicare days of care rendered
       indicated above. Failure to respond by December 22, 2018 will result in any
       changes being made on a prospective basis only. Please include any pertinent
       supporting documentation to support the nursing facility’s claim for a difference in
       the number of non-Medicare days of care.

Maple Manor did not respond to these notices of assessment.

        Subsequently, on January 11, 2019, the DHHS issued Maple Manor separate QAA and
QMI invoices for amounts due in October, November, and December 2018. The QAA invoice
reflected a monthly assessment of $8,134 and the QMI invoice reflected a monthly assessment of
$917. Eventually, DHHS corrected the QAA and QMI assessments prospectively only for April 1,
2019, onward using the 1,821-day figure that Maple Manor reported. But DHHS declined to
retroactively correct the assessments for the period before April 1, 2019.

        Maple Manor subsequently filed the instant suit in the Court of Claims, alleging one count
for declaratory judgment requesting that the court determine the rights and remedies between the
parties.3 Specifically, Maple Manor sought a retroactive credit adjustment to zero for its QAA and
QMI taxes for the period between October 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019, alleging that DHHS levied
and imposed erroneous QAA and QMI assessments.

         In lieu of answering the complaint, DHHS moved for summary disposition under MCR
2.116(C)(7). DHHS argued that summary disposition was appropriate under this subrule because
Maple Manor failed to comply with MCL 600.6431(1) of the Court of Claims Act, MCL 600.6401
et seq., which requires a claimant to file a notice of intent to file a claim against the state within
one year of the claim’s accrual. Maple Manor countered that its complaint was timely because its

3
 Maple Manor sought relief in the administrative forum first, but that case was dismissed for lack
of jurisdiction. That decision was never appealed to this Court.

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claim accrued on April 15, 2019, the date that DHHS corrected Maple Manor’s QAA and QMI
assessments on a prospective basis only.

     Ultimately, the Court of Claims agreed with DHHS and issued a written opinion granting
summary disposition in DHHS’s favor. The court reasoned:

                Here, plaintiffs allege they submitted an [notice of intent (NOI)] on or about
       April 15, 2020. In order for this NOI to satisfy MCL 600.6431, plaintiffs’ claims
       must have accrued within one year of the filing of the NOI. The Court agrees with
       DHHS that plaintiffs’ claims accrued more than one year before the filing of the
       NOI, making the NOI untimely. As noted, a claim accrues at the time the wrong
       upon which the claim is based was done. Frank [v Linkner], 500 Mich [133,] 147[;
       894 NW2d 574 (2017)]. Here, the “wrong” alleged in the complaint arises from
       DHHS’s December 2018 communications informing plaintiffs of the QAA and
       QMI assessments. DHHS’s December 12, 2018 letter purported to make final
       plaintiffs’ QAA and QMI liability within 10 days of plaintiffs’ receipt of the letter.
       Plaintiffs’ amended complaint alleges that the finalization of its QAA and QMI
       liability is the “harm” that must be redressed. That occurred on December 22, 2018,
       when plaintiffs failed to challenge the amounts. Plaintiffs’ NOI was filed more than
       1 year after this occurred, making the NOI untimely.

                                  II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

        The Court of Claims granted summary disposition to DHHS on the basis that Maple Manor
failed to comply with the notice requirements of MCL 600.6431(1), but it did not specify under
which subrule it granted summary disposition. In reaching this conclusion, the Court of Claims
considered facts outside the pleadings. Because the Court of Claims considered facts outside the
pleadings and the statute grants the state immunity if Maple Manor fails to comply with the notice
requirements, the proper subrule for purposes of this Court’s review is MCR 2.116(C)(7). See
Bauserman v Unemployment Ins Agency, 503 Mich 169, 179; 931 NW2d 539 (2019).

        A motion under MCR 2.116(C)(7) may be granted when a claim is barred by immunity.
This Court reviews de novo the Court of Claims’ decision on a summary disposition motion
brought under MCR 2.116(C)(7). Maiden v Rozwood, 461 Mich 109, 118; 597 NW2d 817 (1999).
“When reviewing a motion under MCR 2.116(C)(7), this Court must accept all well-pleaded
factual allegations as true and construe them in favor of the plaintiff, unless other evidence
contradicts them.” Mays v Governor, 506 Mich 157, 181; 954 NW2d 139 (2020) (quotation marks
and citation omitted). The court must consider any documentary evidence submitted and
determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact. Dextrom v Wexford Co, 287 Mich App
406, 429; 789 NW2d 211 (2010). “If no facts are in dispute, and if reasonable minds could not
differ regarding the legal effect of those facts, the question whether the claim is barred is an issue
of law for the court.” Id.

                                          III. ANALYSIS

        On appeal, Maple Manor argues that its complaint was timely under MCL 600.6431(1)
and, thus, the Court of Claims erred by granting summary disposition in favor of DHHS. Maple

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Manor asserts that its claim accrued on April 15, 2019, the date that DHHS issued letters correcting
the QAA and QMI assessments prospectively only. Maple Manor suggests that, because DHHS
decided on this date not to apply the correction retroactively, this is the date when the claim accrued
and from which to measure the timeliness of its complaint under MCL 600.6431(1).

       MCL 600.6431(1) indicates when and how an action may be maintained against the state.
The statute provides:

               Except as otherwise provided in this section, a claim may not be maintained
       against this state unless the claimant, within 1 year after the claim has accrued, files
       in the office of the clerk of the court of claims either a written claim or a written
       notice of intention to file a claim against this state or any of its departments,
       commissions, boards, institutions, arms, or agencies. [MCL 600.6431(1).]

        Under the statute, Maple Manor’s claim is barred unless Maple Manor filed its complaint
or a notice of intent “within one year after the claim has accrued.” MCL 600.6431(1). No dispute
exists that Maple Manor filed a notice of intent with the office of the clerk of the Court of Claims
on April 15, 2020. Because Maple Manor filed its notice of intent on April 15, 2020, its claim
must have accrued within one year before that date, i.e., on or after April 15, 2019, in order for it
to be timely under the statute. The parties disagree, however, with respect to when Maple Manor’s
claim accrued.

        For purposes of the MCL 600.6431(1), the Michigan Supreme Court has indicated that “a
claim accrues at the time the wrong upon which the claim is based was done . . . [and that] the
wrong . . . is the date on which the defendant’s breach harmed the plaintiff, as opposed to the date
on which defendant breached his duty[.]” Mays, 506 Mich at 182 (quotation marks and citation
omitted). A claim does not accrue until each element of a cause of action exists. Id. The requisite
analysis requires this Court to determine, with these principles in mind, when Maple Manor was
“first harmed.” See id.

        In the instant matter, the Court of Claims determined that Maple Manor’s claim accrued
on December 22, 2018, the date that the QAA and QMI assessments became final. We find no
error in this conclusion. There is no factual dispute that DHHS, in July 2018, warned Maple Manor
of an adverse assessment, i.e., an assessment based on total facility census rather than actual
numbers, in the event that Maple Manor failed to submit a Certification Statement and Statistical
Data Worksheet. When Maple Manor did not respond, DHHS, on December 12, 2018, sent Maple
Manor separate adverse QAA and QMI notices of assessment. These notices warned that Maple
Manor had until December 22, 2018, to notify DHHS of any disagreement regarding the
assessment and further, that “[f]ailure to respond by December 22, 2018 will result in any
changes being made on a prospective basis only.” When Maple Manor did not challenge the
amounts by December 22, 2018, the adverse assessments became final with respect to any
retroactive correction. Consequently, the date on which the retroactive assessments became final
is the date on which the harm occurred and, thus, the date on which Maple Manor’s claim accrued.
See Mays, 506 Mich at 182; see also Oak Constr Co v Dep’t of State Hwys, 33 Mich App 561,
566-567; 190 NW2d 296 (1971) (indicating that date on which a state agency finally rejects a
contested claim in the last step of its claim procedure is the date a claim accrues for purposes of
MCL 600.6431(1)). Because December 22, 2018, is more than one year before April 15, 2020,

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the date on which Maple Manor filed its notice of intent, Maple Manor’s claim against DHHS is
barred under the statute.

         On appeal, Maple Manor argues that its claim accrued on April 15, 2019, the date that
DHHS issued letters prospectively correcting its QAA and QMI taxes, and thus its claim is timely.
Maple Manor misses, however, that the harm it alleges in its complaint—DHHS’s determination
that retroactive correction of the adverse QAA and QMI taxes would not be allowed—had already
occurred by the time DHHS issued the corrections in April 2019. Indeed, Maple Manor’s
argument ignores that the accrual analysis requires a court to determine when a Maple Manor was
“first” harmed. Mays, 506 Mich at 182.

        Maple Manor also suggests that December 22, 2018 was not the date its claim accrued
because it did not see the wrong calculation until the invoices were issued in January 2019. Even
if the January 2019 date is used, the notice of intent was still untimely. This is because Maple
Manor filed its notice of intent on April 15, 2020, meaning Maple Manor’s claim must have
accrued on or after April 15, 2019, in order to be timely. January 2019 is outside that one-year
time period.

       In sum, the Court of Claims did not err by granting summary disposition for DHHS under
MCR 2.116(C)(7). Because summary disposition was proper, we do not consider Maple Manor’s
remaining substantive arguments related to the propriety of the QAA and QMI taxes.

       Affirmed. Defendants may tax costs.

                                                           /s/ Michael F. Gadola
                                                           /s/ Kristina Robinson Garrett
                                                           /s/ Kathleen A. Feeney

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