456
Opinion of the Court
often need three years within which to discover overpayments in the tens of thousands of NPRs that they issue, while each of the tens of thousands of sophisticated Medicare-provider recipients of these NPRs is generally capable of identifying an underpayment in its own NPR within the 180-day time period specified in 42 U. S. C. § 1395oo(a)(3). Petitioner's invocation of gross unfairness is also refuted by the Secretary's representation that fiscal intermediaries grant between 30 and 40 percent of providers' requests to reopen reimbursement determinations. Brief for Respondent 27, n. 11.
II
We also reject petitioner's fallback argument that it is entitled to judicial review of the intermediary's refusal to reopen. First, judicial review under the federal-question statute, 28 U. S. C. § 1331, is precluded by 42 U. S. C. § 405(h), applicable to the Medicare Act by operation of § 1395ii, which provides that "[n]o action against . . . the [Secretary] or any officer or employee thereof shall be brought under section 1331 . . . of title 28 to recover on any claim arising under this subchapter." Petitioner's claim "arises under" the Medicare Act within the meaning of this provision because " 'both the standing and the substantive basis for the presentation' " of the claim are the Medicare Act. Heckler v. Ringer, 466 U. S. 602, 615 (1984).
Second, the lower courts properly declined to issue mandamus to order petitioner's fiscal intermediary to reopen its 1989 reimbursement determination. Even if mandamus were available for claims arising under the Social Security and Medicare Acts,3 petitioner would still not be entitled to
3 The Secretary urges us to hold that mandamus is altogether unavailable to review claims arising under the Medicare Act, in light of the second sentence of 42 U. S. C. § 405(h), which provides that "[n]o findings of fact or decision of the [Secretary] shall be reviewed by any person, tribunal, or governmental agency except as" provided in the Medicare Act it-
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007