There is no law or regulation compelling seniors to withdraw from Social Security and repay retirement benefits in order to withdraw from Medicare, ruled U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer. Plaintiffs Brian Hall, John Kraus, and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey are challenging a a Clinton Administration rule that bars them from keeping coverage they prefer to Medicare. The Obama Administration filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that plaintiffs had failed to exhaust administrative remedies. The judge rejected it, noting that one plaintiff had sought an administrative hearing but had received no response from the Social Security Administration for 3 years; such a remedy is "futile," she said.
