Court Opinion

ID: 9467353
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 01:46:32.628732+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:40:18.156096
License: Public Domain

WALD, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part:
I agree with the majority’s decision to “return the entire matter to the administrative agency to consider appellant’s claim anew.” However, because of the inadequate record, and because the agency has never had the opportunity to pass on the matters involved here, I would simply vacate the district court’s decision and remand to permit the agency to exercise its primary jurisdiction, expressing no opinion on legal issues which may eventually need to be resolved depending on the facts as ultimately developed. Questions of whether and to what extent particular expenses are reimbursable under the Medicare statute are difficult and may have practical repercussions of which we, lacking the agency’s insight gained through experience, are unaware.
The proper treatment of litigation expenses strikes me as uniquely difficult, and I would prefer to avoid deciding the issue until the agency has expressed its view in the context of a fully developed factual situation.