Perspective               

HHS Secretary Must Obey Medicare Law

On August 9, 2001 the Gray Panthers Project Fund and other plaintiffs represented by the Center for Medicare Advocacy were successful in getting a preliminary injunction ordering the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, to follow the Medicare law. Judge Henry H. Kennedy of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the Secretary to obey the federal requirement to mail everyone with Medicare comparative information about their HMO and other Medicare choices for 2002 by October 16, 2001. People with Medicare need this information to make an informed decision about their Medicare choices in 2002.

Secretary Thompson tried to defend his failure to follow the Medicare law by claiming that it would cost too much and there would not be enough time at this late stage to comply with the law. The Judge rejected those arguments.

If you want to have the information you need to make an informed choice about your Medicare options, be sure to get objective comparative information from Medicare before making a new Medicare health plan choice. Call 1-800-MEDICARE to be sure that they mail you this information when it becomes available. That's 1-800-MEDICARE.

_________________________________