2004D13

This case arises from Hunterdon Medical Center's and Somerset Medical Center's (Providers') dissatisfaction with having a closed hospital's wage data included in the Providers' Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) wage index and the exclusion from the wage index data of providers that have been reclassified by the Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board (MGCRB). The question addressed by the decision is whether expedited judicial review (EJR) is appropriate because the Board cannot grant the remedy sought by the Providers: a change to the Secretary's policies used to calculate wage indices.