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OCR Page 1 of 79Tobacco-
medicare
Tobacco Q&A
January 20, 1999
Suit
Q:
What did the President announce last night?
A:
The President announced that the Justice Department is preparing a litigation plan to take
the tobacco companies to court for smoking-related federal health care costs. The Justice
Department, after studying this matter for several months, has determined that the tobacco
companies' potential liability is massive and that there are appropriate bases for recovery,
and the Justice Department is putting together a task force to make decisions on the best
way to bring litigation.
Q:
What claims will the suit assert? What damages will it seek? Will there be more
than one suit?
A:
These are matters for the Justice Department's task force to determine. The Justice
Department has noted two possible theories on which to proceed: the Medical Care
Recovery Act and the Medicare Secondary Payer Act. And possible costs to be recovered
include those under Medicare, the Federal Employee Health Benefits program, military
and veterans benefits, and the Indian Health Service. But these are all matters that will be
evaluated and decided on by the Task Force, and in general we will not be discussing our
litigation strategy in public.
Q:
When will the suit be brought?
A:
This is a matter for the Justice Department's task force to determine. Litigation will be
brought when the Justice Department is fully prepared to do so.
Q:
Hasn't the Justice Department been looking at this for a long time? Why did it
suddenly reach this decision?
A:
The Justice Department has been reviewing this matter since the collapse of tobacco
legislation last summer. After careful consideration, the Justice Department concluded
that there were viable grounds to recover tobacco-related health care costs from the
companies.
Q:
Did the President direct the Attorney General to bring this suit?
A:
No. The Justice Department made this decision, based on its analysis of the relevant legal
questions. The President of course supports the Attorney General's determination.
Q:
Did the White House talk to the Justice Department about bringing the suit?
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