An internal investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services confirms that the top Medicare official threatened to fire the program's chief actuary if he told Congress that drug benefits would probably cost much more than the White House acknowledged.

A report on the investigation, issued Tuesday, says the administrator of Medicare, Thomas A. Scully, issued the threat to Richard S. Foster while lawmakers were considering huge changes in the program last year. As a result, Mr. Foster's cost estimate did not become known until after the legislation was enacted.

But neither the threat nor the withholding of information violated any criminal law, the report said. It accepted the Justice Department's view that Mr. Scully had "the final authority to determine the flow of information to Congress.'' Moreover, it said, the actuary "had no authority to disclose information independently to Congress.''

Mr. Scully, who resigned in December, in part to become a lobbyist for health care companies, had denied threatening Mr. Foster but had acknowledged having told him to withhold the information from Congress.

Mr. Foster had estimated that the Medicare legislation would cost $500 billion to $600 billion over 10 years. The White House told Congress the cost would not exceed $400 billion.

Ms. Corrigan said she had uncovered numerous requests from Congress for data and cost estimates prepared by the Bush administration. In many cases, she said, Mr. Scully did not recall the requests.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/07/politics/07medicare.html