Medicare Refuses to Cap VNR Use

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In testimony before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Medicare administrator Mark McClellan "would not rule out using government-produced news releases to inform seniors about the new Medicare prescription drug benefit," although they would not be a "main part" of a senior outreach program. In May 2004, the Government Accountability Office ruled that video news releases "touting the Medicare drug benefit" were covert propaganda, due to "the videos' failure to name Medicare as their source." McClellan dismissed the GAO findings, saying "the binding interpretation for him was a determination by Justice's Office of Legal Counsel that video news releases were legal so long as the information was accurate."