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Court clears suit to affirm voluntary Medicare, Social Security
By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
10/02/09 5:03 PM EDT
A federal judge has cleared the way for consideration of a class-action lawsuit in which plaintiffs - including former House Majority Leader Dick Armey - are asking for a ruling upholding an existing law that declares participation in Medicare and Social Security to be voluntary, not compulsory.
According to Allison Bell, a reporter for National Underwriter, an insurance industry trade publication, U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer rejected a motion to dismiss the suit by Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Michael Asture, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA).
The case is Hall v Sebellius. It stems from an HHS operations manual that requires people opting out of Medicare to also lose their Social Security benefits. The plaintiffs are being assisted with their suit by the Fund for Personal Liberty, a libertarian oriented Washington-state think tank.
"The plaintiffs claim that the operations manual Medicare mandate rules violate a statute that makes enrollment in Medicare and Social Security voluntary. All of the plaintiffs say they want to stay out of Medicare because they believe it is an inferior system and have concerns about its finances, and three of the plaintiffs would be eligible for other, better health benefits programs if they did not have to sign up for Medicare," according to Bell.
Officials at HHS and SSA officials contend their manual accurately reflects the intent of Congress when it created Medicare and Social Security to cover all Americans.Collyer appears to have rejected that interpretation, however. You can read her ruling here. If the plaintiffs win, the federal government will no doubt appeal it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
And it is far from inconceivable that the present Congress would pass a new law explicitly requiring forfeiture of benefits when opting out of Medicare,
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