Federal appeals judges on Monday appeared skeptical of the Trump administration's defense of a Medicare Advantage audit rule, suggesting they may uphold a lower court decision that invalidated it. The hearing in Humana v. Kennedy concerned the risk adjustment data validation, or RADV, rule, which Humana sued to halt in 2023.
Humana, the country's second-largest Medicare Advantage insurer, argued that HHS's final rule diverged significantly from its proposed version and that stakeholders were not given proper notice and an opportunity to comment. A federal judge agreed in September 2025 and struck down the rule; HHS appealed in November.
During oral arguments, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit appeared poised to toss the rule out again. The judges did not take kindly to HHS's arguments, according to STAT.