Whether and to what extent a hospital qualifies for higher reimbursements under the Medicare Act depends upon several factors, including the number of days that a hospital provides inpatient care to patients who "were entitled to benefits under part A of [Medicare] and were entitled to supplementary security income [SSI] benefits." 42 U.S.C. § 1895ww(d)(5)(F)(vi)(1). The Department currently interprets "entitled to [SSI] benefits" differently than "entitled to [Medicare part A] benefits," limiting the SSI-entitled category to patients who actually received an SSI payment for the month of their hospital stay, rather than including all who qualify for the SSI program. Yet, for the Medicare-entitled category, the Department takes the opposite approach, including all patients who qualify for the Medicare program, regardless of whether Medicare paid for their hospital stay. Whether "entitled to [SSI] benefits" must likewise include all those who qualify for the SSI program.

Whether the D.C. Circuit properly upheld the Secretary's internally inconsistent reading of the statute by holding that "entitled to benefits" means two different things within the same sentence of the Medicare Act, and whether the Department reasonably counted only those who received cash payments as "entitled" to SSI benefits based on the reasoning that the only relevant benefit provided by the SSI program was payment of cash assistance.

Whether federal courts may grant extensions of time to file petitions for certiorari beyond the standard 90-day period when counsel faces scheduling conflicts and recent case retention