No. 09-cv-672 (D.Conn.), filed April 24, 2009
Issue: Whether a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, about the possible failure of Part D plans to reimburse LIS beneficiaries for premium payments for which they were not responsible, had to be answered in a timely fashion.
Relief sought: Full and timely responses to plaintiff’s FOIA request.
Updated: April 5, 2011
Status: Plaintiff had sought information from CMS about a payment of $123.2 million that CMS had made to Part D plans to provide retroactive premium coverage for low income beneficiaries enrolled in Part D. There had been an indication in a GAO Report that some significant portion of this amount was never actually refunded to the beneficiaries. CMS acknowledged receipt of the request but gave no indication of when it would provide the information. Plaintiff filed a complaint in April 2009 and moved for summary judgment in June 2009.
The court denied plaintiff's motion for summary judgment without prejudice. The defendant ultimately produced thousands of pages of documents plus a "Vaughn Index". Although defendant did move for summary judgment, the parties ultimately agreed to a settlement, which included payment of plaintiff's attorney's fees. The case was dismissed on November 12, 2010.