Seniors cannot opt out of Medicare

Ordinarily, lawsuits are brought against governments for denial of benefits. But in a rare case, five senior citizens have sued the federal government to get out of an entitlement program — Medicare. Unfortunately, a judge says that can’t happen, if they want to keep their Social Security benefits too.

Five senior citizens, among them former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, want to opt out of their automatic eligibility for Medicare Part A, which covers hospital care, while they receive Social Security. Other plaintiffs include former federal employees covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and two wealthy individuals with their own health care plan.

Plaintiffs were not asking for any refunds on the Medicare taxes they paid in. However, they wanted to forego Medicare because they would get better coverage from their private insurer, as their private insurance plans limit coverage for Medicare recipients.

It sounds reasonable, as well as beneficial to the government if Washington could save money by not paying for unnecessary and unwanted coverage.

A three-member panel for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals said in a 2-1 ruling that that is not possible under today’s regulations. Social Security recipients must accept Medicare Part A or lose their Social Security benefits. In effect, the ruling turns a right, or entitlement, into a mandate.

The Fund for Personal Liberty, Freeland, Wash., which is backing the lawsuit, argued that Social Security and Medicare are supposed to be voluntary programs. However, they say, the Clinton and Bush administrations improperly implemented regulations that linked the two together.

The Fund argues that Social Security enrollees are being denied their right to choose and make health care decisions. Forcing someone to choose between both or neither program is not voluntary. It can also deny beneficiaries their right to retirement benefits to which they contributed out of their payroll deductions which they worked for all their lives.

The Fund estimates that billions of dollars could be saved by allowing Social Security recipients to opt out of Medicare, which could relieve the financial pressure on the Medicare trust fund that is expected to be insolvent by the end of this decade under increased demands from retiring baby boomers.