Mississippi Supreme Court Opens the Door to Challenge Agency Rules
The Mississippi Supreme Court recently made a big change to administrative law. In a case affirming an agency decision, the Court briefly noted that it would no longer give deference to an agency’s interpretations of its own rules and regulations. This could give health care providers more leeway to challenge those regulations.
What Deference Did Courts Give Before This Change?
Nearly every area of health care is heavily regulated by interlocking state and federal agencies. These regulations decide who can provide health care services, how services can be provided, and how providers can be reimbursed.
Generally, the courts are charged with interpreting statues, rules and regulations. But both federal and Mississippi state courts have long deferred to government agencies to interpret their own rules. Agencies’ specialized knowledge of the areas they regulated meant they could better understand the nuance of the relevant statutes and rules. So Mississippi courts were supposed to defer to agencies unless their interpretations were arbitrary or capricious.
Over time, Mississippi courts moved away from deferring to agency interpretations of statutes. While courts said they were giving great deference to agencies, they began to question agencies’ statutory interpretations more and more. Eventually, the Mississippi Supreme Court said its own interpretations of what deference was required were contradictory and confusing.
In 2018, the state Supreme Court said it would no longer defer to state agencies’ interpretation of statutes. It said this switch was needed to ensure a proper separation of powers and to act as a check on the executive agencies.
Still, the Court continued to give “great deference” to an agency’s interpretation of its own rules and regulations. As late as February, the Court wrote about the great deference owed to state agencies when they were interpreting their own rules.
The Court has now abandoned that deference. It found that just like with statutes, it should use its own judgment without deference to interpret agency rules and regulations.
Why Does This Matter for Health Care Providers?
Health care providers in Mississippi are regulated by numerous state agencies and professional licensing boards. Before now, it was tough to challenge an agency’s decision to discipline a physician or deny reimbursement for services rendered. This is because the agency that made the decision was entitled to deference where it interpreted its own regulations. The Court’s new standard may open the door to more challenges to agency actions, because the court will no longer defer to the agencies’ interpretation of its own rules and regulations.
Our Health Care Practice Group will continue to monitor regulatory changes. Please contact Blake Adams, Andrew Coffman or any member of Phelps’ Health Care team if you have questions or need advice and guidance.
