452
Opinion of the Court
Petitioner then brought the instant action in Federal District Court, seeking review of the Board's dismissal and of the intermediary's refusal to reopen. In an unpublished opinion, the District Court agreed that the Board lacked jurisdiction to review the refusal to reopen, and rejected petitioner's alternative contention that the federal-question statute, 28 U. S. C. § 1331, or the mandamus statute, § 1361, gave the District Court jurisdiction to review the intermediary's refusal directly. It accordingly dismissed the complaint. The Court of Appeals affirmed. 132 F. 3d 1135 (CA6 1997). We granted certiorari. 524 U. S. 925 (1998).
I
The primary issue in this case is whether the Board has jurisdiction to review a fiscal intermediary's refusal to reopen a reimbursement determination. The regulation that authorizes reopening provides that "[j]urisdiction for reopening a determination . . . rests exclusively with that administrative body that rendered the last determination or decision." 42 CFR § 405.1885(c) (1997). In this litigation, the Secretary defends the position set forth in the Medicare Provider Reimbursement Manual § 2926, App. A, ¶ B.4 (Sept. 1993): "A refusal by the intermediary to grant a reopening requested by the provider is not appealable to the Board, pursuant to 42 CFR § 405.1885(c) . . . ." 1 The Secretary construes the regulation to mean that where, as here, the intermediary is the body that rendered the last determination with respect to the cost reports at issue, review by the Board of the intermediary's refusal to reopen would divest the in-1 The clause immediately following the quoted portion of the Medicare Provider Reimbursement Manual reads "except for providers which are located within the jurisdiction of the U. S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where such a refusal to reopen is appealable." § 2926, App. A, ¶ B.4. This exception obviously reflects, not an inconsistency in the Secretary's position, but an acknowledgment of the Ninth Circuit's rejection of that position. See Oregon v. Bowen, 854 F. 2d 346 (1988).
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007