Melissa Correa Velázquez, EL VOCERO 03/08/2020
Federal Judge William Young declared unconstitutional the denial of benefits to U.S. citizens residing on the Island in the federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutritional Assistance (SNAP), and Low Income Subsidy (LIS) programs of Medicare Part D, which covers prescription drugs.
"This court, watered down in large part by a recent decision of the First Circuit Court of Appeals disagrees with the government," Young said.
The judge did not accept the arguments of the U.S. Department of Justice that residents of the island should not have access to these programs because of the non-payment of federal income taxes, the cost to the federal Treasury and because it could cause problems for the Puerto Rican economy.
Last year, a panel of judges of the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston upheld the order of federal judge Gustavo Gelpí, who determined that Luis Vaello Madero does not have to return the $28,000 in Supplemental Security Income (SIS) benefits from Social Security after he moved from New York to Puerto Rico, where U.S. citizens do not receive benefits from that plan.
The Circuit's order only applied to Vaello Madero. However, this forum creates a precedent, since now any qualified person can demand it and go to the Federal Court if necessary.
"The categorical exclusion of SSI-eligible Puerto Rico residents is not rationally related to a legitimate government interest. In addition to the record established by the parties, we have considered even conceivable theoretical reasons for the differential treatment accorded by the government. Having found no set of facts, nor appellant alleging any additional theory, establishing a rational basis for the exclusion of Puerto Rico residents from SIS coverage, such exclusion of Puerto Rico residents is declared invalid," reads the order of Judges Juan Torruella, Jeffrey Howard and Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson.