Federal appeals court judges appeared skeptical of the Trump administration's arguments during a Monday hearing on Humana's lawsuit regarding Medicare Advantage audit rules. The three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit seemed poised to invalidate the rule again, according to STAT+.
Humana, the second largest Medicare Advantage insurer in the country, filed its lawsuit, Humana v. Kennedy, in 2023. The company argued that the final rule issued by the Health and Human Services Department diverged significantly from the proposed version. Humana claimed stakeholders were not given proper notice or an opportunity to comment on these changes, which it said would be detrimental to insurers.
A federal judge agreed with Humana in September 2025, invalidating the rule known as risk adjustment data validation, or RADV. The Health and Human Services Department appealed that decision in November. The current hearing represents the next stage in that legal challenge.