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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND MACKENZIE MEDICAL SUPPLY, INC., Plaintiff : : : : v. : : MICHAEL O. LEAVITT, Secretary, : U.S. Department of Health and Human : Services, : Defendant : ...o0o...

CIVIL NO. AMD 04-2807

MEMORANDUM OPINION The plaintiff, MacKenzie Medical Supply, Inc.,1 is a supplier of durable medical equipment ("DME"), and in particular, power-operated wheelchairs. In its three-count complaint, MacKenzie seeks judicial review of a determination by the defendant, the Secretary of Health and Human Services ("Secretary"), that it was overpaid $508,747.57 in Medicare reimbursement for wheelchairs it sold between September 1998 and February 1999. The defendant contends that the payments were erroneous because MacKenzie did not properly document the transactions for purposes of determining "medical necessity." The plaintiff argues that the documentation it provided, in the form of "certificates of medical necessity" ("CMN") signed by the patients' doctors, was entirely sufficient. An Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") ruled against MacKenzie following a November 20, 2002, hearing, and, in a June 24, 2004, letter, the Medicare Appeals Council denied a request

MacKenzie is "no longer a Medicare supplier nor is it doing any business." Administrative Record ("A.R.") 2191. However, the company remains in existence for purposes of this lawsuit.

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for review. Thus, the plaintiff has exhausted its administrative remedies. Now before the court are cross-motions for summary judgment. I have carefully reviewed the parties' numerous memoranda, as well as the administrative record, and I have held an oral hearing. For the reasons explained in detail below, the plaintiff's motion shall be denied and the defendant's motion shall be granted. I. BACKGROUND The Medicare Act, established under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C.

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