March **, *****In the fall of ****, my wife and I went to the Needles Ca.Social Securit...

March **, *****In the fall of ****, my wife and I went to the Needles Ca.Social Security office to enroll in Medicare. I was a ** year old retired California teacher whose health coverage was provided by Blue Cross of Southern California. My wife was not yet eligible for Medicare so she was covered by Blue Cross as well. Upon arrival in Needles, I was scolded by two clerks for not enrolling in Medicare as soon as I turned **. I explained that I had stayed with Blue Cross in order to protect my wife until she turned **--to no avail. Low level clerks are nothing if not stubborn. At the end of the day, their boss called me at home to inform me that we could enroll, but that we would have to pay a **% penalty for the rest of my life. I didn*t argue.* I'm not a lawyer, but it's obvious that somethings wrong with this picture, According to the **th Amendment. no state shall deprive any citizen of life. liberty, or property (money) wihoutt due process of law. To me, that means that I was accorded no Constitutional protections. I was penalized by a couple of clerks who presumed to speak for the United States government.* The **% penalty continues to be assessed to this day.It strikes me that the average citien woul find this punishment extreme. The Eighth Amendment prohibits Cruel and Unusual punishment. It's my estimation that Medicare has unjustlyvdenied me of my and I expect it to be returned.