This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Monday, October 19, 2009. I'm Caleb Brown.

Supporters claim a new government option would compete on a level playing field with private health insurance,

but a new lawsuit belies that claim. Since 1993, the Social Security Administration has effectively coerced seniors into enrolling in Medicare

by saying that those who opt out of Medicare for private insurance must forfeit all Social

Security benefits, past, and future.

Attorney Kent Masterson Brown has been fighting exactly that coercion.

We spoke on Friday.

You are working on lawsuits that deal with Medicare and the inability, or should say the prohibition

on some people being able to spend their own money to secure their own health care

and still participate in certain government social insurance programs like Social Security

correct describe the case Hall versus Sebelius.

Okay, what this case is there are five plaintiffs from all different regions of the country, three of whom were former federal employees

with federal employee health benefits programs that covered their health care and then two individuals who have set aside money

over the course of years to pay for their own health care during their retirement years.

All five of them want their Social Security because it's their money.

They've paid into it for purposes of it being so-called saved they now want it however none of

them want to get in Medicare at all and both programs, Medicare and Social Security were created by Congress to be wholly voluntary.

You could get in them or you could not get in them.

It's totally up to you and these five simply don't

want to be in Medicare and yet again they want their Social Security well in

1993 during want their Social Security. Well, in 1993, during the height of the Clinton health care task force being in operation, the Clinton administration began to amend the program

operations manual system of the Social Security Administration.

...