Archived Article: Litigation - Gray Panthers Project Fund Update (Copyright Center for Medicare Advocacy)

GRAY PANTHERS PROJECT FUND UPDATE:
COURT ORDERS MEDICARE AGENCY TO SEND OUT WRITTEN COMPARATIVE MEDICARE+CHOICE PLAN INFORMATION

The Federal District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to send people on Medicare written comparative information about the Medicare+Choice options available in their community. The ruling, issued on August 9, came in a law suit, Gray Panthers Project Fund v. Thompson, CA.No. 1:01CV01374, filed by the Center for Medicare Advocacy on June 22, 2001. (Click here for more information about the Gray Panthers Project Fund case.)

The Center filed the law suit on behalf of four elder rights organizations and a Medicare beneficiary after the Secretary of HHS had announced he was giving Medicare+Choice organizations, including Medicare HMOs, two and one half months more than the Medicare statute allows to file information about the plans they will offer beneficiaries. The Secretary also announced that, because of the extension in the filing date, HHS would not be sending Medicare beneficiaries information comparing the health plans that were available in their community. The Medicare statute requires HHS to mail comparative written information to beneficiaries two weeks before the November annual coordinated enrollment period. In past years the information has been included in the Medicare & You handbook.

Judge Henry Kennedy, in granting plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction, rejected defendant’s arguments that HHS did not have the time or money to send out written comparative information to Medicare beneficiaries. He also rejected defendant’s claim that people with Medicare could get the same information by calling the Medicare hotline or by using the Internet Although he found that HHS had violated the law in moving the filing date from July 1 to September 17, the judge did not order the Agency to require Medicare+Choice plans to file their information any sooner. However, Judge Kennedy ordered HHS to provide written comparative information to Medicare beneficiaries in compliance with the Medicare law.

At a status hearing on September 17, 2001, HHS informed the court that it would comply with the court’s order. The Medicare Agency will mail to every Medicare beneficiary in a zip code where one or more Medicare+Choice options is available a written comparison of those options. All comparative booklets will be mailed by October 16. In addition, the information that will be provided is more extensive than the information included in previous years in the Medicare & You handbook. (Click here for more information about Medicare Mailings.)

The court set another status hearing for November 2, 2001, to determine how to proceed on plaintiffs’ requests for a permanent injunction and declaration that HHS must abide by the statutory time frame for filing information and must mail comparative written information to people with Medicare.