|
 |
 |
|
Court says Medicare beneficiaries are stuck with government program
Americans who are eligible for Medicare benefits can't give them up, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The unusual case was brought by five people who would prefer not to be on Medicare because their private insurer limits hospital coverage for customers who are entitled to the government health program. The plaintiffs, who include former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), sued to stop their automatic enrollment into Medicare.
"This is not your typical lawsuit against the Government," D.C. circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a Republican appointee, wrote for the court. "Plaintiffs here have sued because they don't want government benefits."
"Plaintiffs want something more than just the ability to decline Medicare payments," the court explains in its decision. "They seek a legal declaration that Medicare Part A benefits cannot be paid on their behalf — a declaration, in other words, that they are not legally entitled to Medicare Part A benefits."
The law, the court concluded, does not provide a mechanism for beneficiaries to opt out.
"If you are 65 or older and sign up for Social Security, you are automatically entitled to Medicare Part A benefits," Kavanaugh wrote. "You can decline those benefits. But you still remain entitled to them under the statute."
