In a case that may have broader implications, a group of seniors in the Northeast took on the tobacco industry and lost.
United Seniors Association Inc., a senior citizens organization, attempted to make a group of tobacco firms repay Medicare for the cost of treating smoking-related illnesses. But the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts dismissed their claim, saying the companies were not liable.
The court described the arguments made by United Seniors as “a reprise of claims made against the tobacco industry brought by the federal government in the late 1990’s seeking to recoup Medicare costs incurred in treating smoking-related illnesses.”
The full text of the court ruling is at http://pacer.mad.uscourts.gov/dc/cgi-bin/recentops.pl?filename=stearns/pdf/unitedseniors2.pdf.
