House votes to fix Medicaid glitch

The House easily passed legislation that would fix a Medicaid "glitch" created by the health law that would have allowed up to 3 million middle-class couples earning as much as $64,000 onto the already struggling Medicaid rolls starting in 2014. The House also voted to adjust a definition that determines eligibility for certain health care programs.

The Associated Press/Washington Post: House Votes To Trim Some Medicaid, Other Subsidies Under Obama's Health Care Overhaul
The House has voted to make it harder for hundreds of thousands of people to qualify for Medicaid under the president's health care overhaul. The Congressional Budget Office says that would knock 500,000 to 1 million people off coverage by the federal insurance program for the poor -; though some would qualify to buy coverage under new insurance exchanges. The budget office has estimated the change would save about $13 billion over the next decade (10/27).

Politico: House Passes Measure To Correct Medicaid Glitch
The House easily passed a bill Thursday to strike out part of President Barack Obama's health care law in a vote that had the White House's strong support -; but much less from House Democrats. The bill, which passed 262-157, fixes a widely cited glitch in the law's expansion of Medicaid that would have allowed up to 3 million middle-class couples earning as much as $64,000 onto the already struggling Medicaid rolls starting in 2014 (Millman, 10/27).

NPR Shots Blog: A Tweak To Health Law would Eliminate Medicaid For Some
Should the middle class be eligible for Medicaid? The health program, funded jointly by the feds and the states, was devised to cover the poor. But if a provision in last year's health law isn't changed that could be the case for people with pretty healthy incomes. So today, the House approved a bill that would make the change. The bill is backed by President Obama, among others, and it passed relatively easily in a vote of 262-157 (Rovner, 10/27).

Modern Healthcare: House Votes To Change Reform Law's Income Definition
The House of Representatives on Thursday moved to change another provision in the health care reform law as the lower chamber voted 262-157 to adjust a definition in the statute that determines eligibility for certain health care programs. Currently, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act uses a formula called modified adjusted gross income -; or MAGI -; to determine who is eligible for Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and health insurance exchange subsidies. MAGI is based on adjusted gross income, which excludes a portion of Social Security benefits. Sponsored by Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), a nurse, the House-passed bill would count the entire Social Security benefit, not just the part that is subject to income tax (Zigmond, 10/27).

The Hill: House Votes To Scale Back Health Care Law Eligibility, 262-157
The House approved legislation Thursday that would tighten the eligibility requirements for participation in health insurance exchanges, Medicaid and other programs under last year's health care law, making it harder for middle-income Americans to qualify for these programs. The House approved the bill, H.R. 2576, on a 262-157 vote in which 26 Democrats voted for the measure. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the change could effect eligibility for as many as 1 million people (Kasperowicz, 10/27).

Reuters: U.S. House Passes Minor Element Of Obama Jobs Plan
Thursday's vote was a rare example of common ground as the House voted 406 to 16 to eliminate a yet-to-be enacted law that would withhold 3 percent of payments to government contractors. ... However, the two sides disagree over how to cover the bill's $11 billion cost. By a largely party-line vote of 262 to 157, the House passed a separate bill that would save $13 billion by tightening eligibility for Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor and reduce subsidies in Obama's landmark health care overhaul. That element was included in a debt-reduction plan Obama submitted last month, and the White House said it supports passage (Sullivan, 10/27).

The New York Times: In Small Burst Of Bipartisanship, House Passes Two Pieces Of Jobs Bill
More controversial was another measure that passed the House on Thursday, this one meant to compensate for the projected loss in withholding revenues and fix an apparent error in the health care law, under which hundreds of thousands of middle-income early retirees can get nearly free Medicaid coverage meant for the poor. Under the new measure, those recipients would no longer be eligible. … While Obama administration officials have acknowledged that the coverage was unintended when the legislation was written, it is popular among many Democrats who believe it is a way for retirees who cannot afford health care plans to obtain them (Steinhauer, 10/27).