Over the past several years, one of the more contentious reimbursement issues has been whether teaching hospitals are entitled to Medicare reimbursement for indirect medical education (IME) expenses related to time spent by residents in

“pure research.” District courts in Ohio, Arizona, Rhode Island, Illinois and Michigan have all ruled that they are. In 2008, however, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Rhode Island Hospital v. Leavitt, 548 Fed. 3d 29 (2008), issued a contrary decision and upheld the Secretary’s disallowance of IME for such activities. Now, another court of appeals, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, has weighed in on the issue, concluding that reimbursement for such expenses is allowed. Thomas W. Coons of Ober|Kaler discusses the case.