In 1972, a group of Cuban refugees filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, challenging the constitutionality of the eligibility requirement for aliens who wished to enroll in the Medicare Part B supplemental medical insurance program. The challenged provision, Section 1836(2)(A)(ii) of the Social Security Act of 1935, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1395o(2)(A)(ii) (1970), disqualified all aliens from Medicare Part B benefits except those who were lawfully admitted for permanent residence and who had lived in the U.S. continuously for five years prior to applying for benefits. Plaintiffs, who were all over the age of 65 but had lawfully lived in the U.S. for less than five years, alleged that the law violated the constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. They sought declaratory and injunctive relief.

As Plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of a law, a Three-Judge District Court was convened to consider their claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2282, 2284 (1970). The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment.

The Three-Judge District Court (Judge James Lawrence King) held that the five-year residence requirement violated the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment and that the alien-eligibility provisions of 42 U.S.C.S. § 1395o(2)(B) were therefore entirely unenforceable. Diaz v. Weinberger, 361 F.Supp. 1 (S.D. Fla., 1973). The government appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On appeal, the Supreme Court (Justice Stevens) reversed, finding that the five-year continuous residency requirement and the permanent residency requirement of the Medicare Part B program were constitutional. Mathews v. Diaz, 426 U.S. 67, 96 S.Ct. 1883 (1976).

Stephen Imm - 08/21/2007


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