Media coverage of Hall v. Sebelius has included the following:
News Articles
Naples Daily News
"Washington Calling"
October 11, 2008 – "Three libertarian retirees are revolting against the federal government's caretaking, filing a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington challenging rules in place since 1993 that tie enrollment in the Medicare hospital insurance (Part A) program to payment of Social Security benefits."
CNSNews.com
"Lawsuit Accuses HHS, Social Security of Forcing Medicare on Retirees"
October 10, 2008 – "The Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are unlawfully penalizing retirees who want to opt out of Medicare by denying them the rest of their rightful Social Security benefits, according to a lawsuit filed by three retirees this week."
Associated Press
"Men Find Roadblock to Opting Out of Medicare"
October 9, 2008 – "Three men who say they have adequate health coverage and enough money to pay for their health care needs want to opt out of hospital coverage under Medicare. Federal rules say they cannot collect Social Security benefits if they do that."
Dow Jones News Service
"Three Men Seek Social Security Without Medicare in US Suit"
October 9, 2008 – "Three men who under current law cannot receive Social Security benefits because they want to forgo Medicare benefits have filed a lawsuit against the federal government."
Plano Courier Star
"Three Plaintiffs File Lawsuit to Opt Out of Medicare Part A"
October 9, 2008 – "A bill U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (R-Texas) has introduced may be too late as three plaintiffs filed a lawsuit Thursday in an attempt to opt out of Medicare without facing dire financial consequences."
National Journal's Congress Daily
"Three Plaintiffs File Lawsuit To Opt Out Of Medicare Part A" (subscription required)
October 9, 2008 – "Three plaintiffs filed a lawsuit today in an attempt to opt out of Medicare without facing dire financial consequences."
CD Publications
"Lawsuit Challenges Legality of Medicare, Social Security Rules" (subscription required)
October 9, 2008 – "A lawsuit filed Thursday (Oct. 9) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia charges the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) with adopting policies that deny otherwise eligible retirees their rightful Social Security benefits if those retirees choose not to enroll in Medicare."
Health Freedom Watch
"Lawsuit Challenges Coercion of Seniors Into Medicare"
October 2008 – "Most important, all three plaintiffs want their doctor-patient relationships free of interference. For them, paying privately is the best way to ensure that freedom."
Editorials and Columns
Las Vegas Review Journal
Editorial – "Opting Out"
October 10, 2008 – "Let's hope the lawsuit – based on a technical issue involving the regulation's implementation – succeeds. If not, Congress should step in and fix this silly rule."
Washington Examiner
Column by Quin Hillyer – "Lawsuit Could Rein in Medicare Bureaucrats"
October 14, 2008 – "This is a denial of individual constitutional liberty, pure and simple. It is authoritarianism. It is outrageous. And the Bush administration, like the Clinton administration before it, is deliberately and unforgivably undermining several major foundations of the American republic."
Washington Examiner
Editorial – "Let People Decline Medicare Benefits"
October 17, 2008 – "To be clear, nobody is suggesting here that people should be able to opt out of paying their Medicare taxes. But some senior citizens who have paid their taxes want to voluntarily relinquish their benefits in order to avoid the red tape and rationing they say Medicare entails. How can anybody with any sense object to that?"
Townhall.com,
Washington Times, Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, Magic City Morning Star, Dowagiac News
Column by Ed Feulner, President, The Heritage Foundation –
"Forced Into An Unhealthy Choice"
October 21, 2008 – " Can you imagine the government forcing you to take benefits you didn't want? How about a situation where you'd have to sue the government to get out of taking those benefits? Welcome to Washington – and the upside-down logic behind federal entitlements."
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Editorial
October 24, 2008 – “It is hard to know whether to file the following true story under the category of ‘No good deed goes unpunished’ or ‘Government is the problem, not the solution.’”
Wall Street Journal
Editorial – "Senior Liberation Act"
October 27, 2008 – "The suit itself has strong legal merit. Not only have two Administrations implemented policy that has no root in the applicable laws, their 'rules' are no rules at all. Neither Administration bothered to put its extraordinary policies through an official rule-making in which they would have been required to notify the public and invite comments."
San Diego Union-Tribune
Editorial – “Gypping Seniors”
November 8, 2008 – “Yet bureaucrats dictate that seniors give up control of their health care or give up Social Security altogether. A lawsuit to stop that is worth pursuing.”
New York Daily News
Column by Pat Boone, Spokesperson, and Jim Martin, President, of 60-Plus Association
"Strong-arming Seniors Will Be the Death of Medicare"
November 28, 2008 - "Allowing individuals to forgo Medicare without fear of losing other benefits is the only reasonable option."
RealClearPolitics.com, Press of Atlantic City, Raleigh News & Observer, Island Packet (Hilton Head, SC), Belleville News-Democrat, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA), and MiamiHerald.com
Column by Sue Blevins, President, Institute for Health Freedom and Author, "Medicare's Midlife Crisis"
"Let These Seniors Go"
February 12, 2009 - "The court should easily recognize that the law is on the plaintiffs' side... Let's hope seniors' health choices are upheld in Hall v. Sebelius so the great gift of freedom remains available for future generations."
Washington Examiner
Column by Greg Scandlen, CEO, Consumers for Health Care Choices and Senior Fellow, Heartland Institute
"You Will Accept Our Help Or Else"
March 3, 2009 - "For every senior cuffed by the heavy hand of government there's only one guarantee: Medicare will be that much closer to bankruptcy."
Op-Ed Articles
Buffalo News, Washington Times , Newark Star-Ledger, Biloxi Sun Herald, and Austin American Statesman
"Social Security's Catch-22"
October 15, 2008 – By Brian Hall, Lead Plaintiff
"Suppose you work for 45 years, pay all your taxes, and stay out of trouble. At age 66 you apply for Social Security benefits. But the Social Security Administration says 'no.'"
Broadcast Coverage
Talk Radio News Service
"Medicare Not Beneficial to Beneficiaries"
October 10, 2008 - "Plaintiffs Bryan Hall, Lewis Randall and Norman Rogers are bringing a new lawsuit against the government challenging the Medicare and the Social Security system, saying they would rather proceed with legal action than seek congressional action, since something needs to be done now."
