Cite as: 522 U. S. 448 (1998)
Opinion of the Court
innovation that caused the Secretary to examine GME costs reimbursed in the past and to question the significant variation in costs once allowed. Concerned that providers may have been reimbursed erroneously, the Secretary attempted to assure reimbursement in future and still open years of reasonable costs, but no more. To accomplish this, the Secretary endeavored to strip from the base-period amount improper costs, e. g., physician costs for activities unrelated to the GME program, malpractice costs, and excessive administrative and general service costs. The Secretary so proceeded on the assumption that Congress, when it changed the system for GME cost reimbursement, surely did not want to cement misclassified and nonallowable costs into future reimbursements, thus perpetuating literally million-dollar mistakes. Viewed in the context of the other, contemporaneous changes in Medicare and the Secretary's decision not to pursue recoupment of 1984 GME reimbursements, the three-year gap from the 1986 enactment of the GME Amendment to release of the Secretary's final regulations in 1989 was not exorbitant. The Court rejects the Hospital's "fairness" and "issue preclusion" arguments against the reaudit rule's reasonableness as an interpretation of the governing legislation. Pp. 460-464.
91 F. 3d 57, affirmed.
Ginsburg, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, and Breyer, JJ., joined. Scalia, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which O'Connor and Thomas, JJ., joined, post, p. 464.
Ronald N. Sutter argued the cause and filed briefs for petitioner.
Lisa Schiavo Blatt argued the cause for respondent. With her on the brief were Acting Solicitor General Waxman, Assistant Attorney General Hunger, Deputy Solicitor General Kneedler, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Preston, Barbara C. Biddle, Neil H. Koslowe, Harriet S. Rabb, Henry R. Goldberg, and Thomas W. Coons.
Justice Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.
Section 9202(a) of the Medicare and Medicaid Budget Reconciliation Amendments of 1985, Pub. L. 99-272, 100 Stat. 151, 171-175, 42 U. S. C. § 1395ww(h) (GME Amendment),
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