S-20-0336; S-20-0338 Robert F. Colwell, Jr. DDS, PC and Robert F. Colwell, Jr. DDS v. Managed Care of North America, Inc., and Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, et al.
Lancaster County District Court, Hon. Jodi L. Nelson
Attorneys: John A. Svoboda, Eric J. Sutton (Gross & Welch, PC, LLO, for Appellants); Rodney C. Dahlquist, Jr. (Dornan, Troia, Howard, Breitkreutz & Conway PC, LLO, for Appellee, Managed Care of North America, Inc. (“MCNA”)); James A. Campbell, Solicitor General (Office of the Attorney General, for State Appellee)
Civil: Nebraska Administrative Procedures Act; Wrongful termination
Proceedings Below: The district court entered identical orders dismissing the APA proceeding and error proceeding, for lack of jurisdiction due to Appellants’ failure to timely seek administrative review of MCNA’s letter terminating Appellants from MCNA’s network and Nebraska Medicaid on April 20, 2020. The district court did not address MCNA’s argument concerning jurisdictional priority.
Issue on Appeal: Whether the district court erred in 1) receiving new evidence from outside the administrative record in both the APA proceeding and error proceeding; 2) dismissing with prejudice, the APA proceeding and error proceeding for lack of jurisdiction; 3) finding that Appellants failed to timely file an administrative appeal within the time prescribed by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services’ (“DHHS”) regulations; 4) failing to find that Nebraska DHHS’s order should have been reversed because Appellants’ administrative appeal presented an appealable issue; 5) failing to find that Nebraska DHHS violated Appellants’ due process rights by dismissing the administrative appeal without a fair hearing and when it dismissed the APA proceeding and error proceeding without giving Appellants a fair hearing; and 6) overruling Appellants’ motion to set supersedeas bond in the APA proceeding and error proceeding.