Efforts underway to fix health law glitch

Two separate bills have been introduced to address this health law issue, which inadvertently would make 3 million middle-income early retirees eligible for Medicaid because Social Security benefits would not be factored into their income. The fix could save $13 billion. However, it's not clear if either measure will move forward.

The Associated Press: Fixing Glitch In Obama's Health Law Saves $13B
Memo to President Barack Obama and the debt negotiators: You can save $13 billion by fixing a glitch in the new health care law. That amount may pale in comparison to the "big deal" the president's looking for, but negotiators have got to start somewhere to reach the goal of cutting deficits by $4 trillion over a decade. And the fix would not increase the number of uninsured people (Alonso-Zaldivar, 7/18).

The Hill: People With Disabilities Caught Up In Effort To Fix Glitch In Health Care Law
Efforts to fix a glitch in the health care reform law could backfire on thousands of people with disabilities, The Hill has learned. Republicans want to change a part of the law that made 3 million middle-income people eligible for Medicaid. The law excludes Social Security income when determining eligibility for health insurance exchange subsidies or Medicaid, causing many middle-class people to become eligible for Medicaid starting in 2014 (Pecquet, 7/18).

CQ HealthBeat: Bills Aim To Block Middle Class Retirees From Getting Medicaid In 2014
A Democratic and a Republican senator introduced separate bills Monday to narrow the pool of people who would qualify for Medicaid in 2014. The lawmakers want to eliminate the possibility that middle-class early retirees could qualify for the federal-state health program for the poor because their Social Security benefits would not be included as part of their income. Congressional aides said it was unclear whether the legislation would move anytime soon. A spokesman for Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., the sponsor of one of the bills, said that the change "could be attached to a number of proposals" this year (Adams, 7/18).