Glitch in Obama's health care law

[avaistheone1]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Government number-crunchers say President Barack Obama's health care law would let several million middle-class people get nearly free coverage by making them eligible for the Medicaid program for the poor.

The result was discovered by Medicare officials who make long-range cost estimates, after the law was signed.

It would affect about 3 million early retirees. A married couple with an annual income of $64,000 could still get Medicaid. That's because starting in 2014, their Social Security benefits would no longer count as income.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110621/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_health_overhaul_glitch

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I hope that means people under $64k would also get Medicaid free.

[handmade34]

1. the biggest glitch

is that it is not universal... single payer... healthcare for all!

[plumbob]

2. Yes, the only way to provide good, affordable healthcare. Period.

Boy, does $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ have a pull.

[avaistheone1]

3. I'll second that!

[SoapBox]

4. Ditto Ditto...

And exactly my first question...what about us REAL poor people.

[obxhead]

11. The biggest glitch

is that the new law provides security for profit margins not health care.

[CreekDog]

20. Medicaid is single payer

at least some folks may get it.

[mwooldri]

5. Let me reword that headline for you.

"Feature in Obama's health care law"

There. Fixed.

[tosh]

7. Thanks! I was puzzling over that headline.

Glitch?? I think not.

[OneAngryDemocrat]

15. Bingo!!!

[kestrel91316]

6. I'm quite sure they will find a way to screw those with incomes LESS than

$64k out of any benefits at all.

[spinbaby]

8. Heaven forbid

that we should be able to afford to retire early.

[DavidDvorkin]

9. The comments at the link are depressing

That's so often the case.

[Enrique]

10. smells like B.S. to me

for one thing, the story is very short and thin on details, and i can't find any better version.

How exactly did these "government number-crunchers" "discover" it now, and did their "discovery" have anything to do with the cuts in Medicaid people are talking about?

[PoliticAverse]

19. Thin on details? Seemed pretty detailed to me...

Including comment from Medicare's chief actuary.

[Enrique]

24. it's much better now

when this was first posted, the article was barely more than what's in the OP. Now it's like a regular news story.

edit: I notice they also changed "glitch" to "twist" and they include quotes from dems disputing that there's any problem at all:

Indeed, administration officials and senior Democratic lawmakers say it's not a loophole but the result of a well-meaning effort to simplify rules for deciding who will get help with insurance costs under the new health care law. Instead of a hodgepodge of rules, there will be one national policy.

[PoliticAverse]

26. Interesting, that explains things. Thanks. Sneaky AP. n/t

[mzmolly]

21. Frankly, it was likely deliberate but not promoted.

Some Republicans are unhappy about our desire to help people pay for "life".

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110621/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_overhaul_glitch

"The fact that this is being discovered now tells you, what else is baked into this law?" said Leavitt, who served as Health and Human Services secretary under President George H.W. Bush. "It clearly begins to reveal that the nature of the law was to put more and more people under eligibility for government insurance."

:D

[Coyote_Bandit]

12. Glitch?

Really?

That law is a clusterfuck.

Too bad Obama didn't even have the spine to ask Congress to hear evidence regarding the feasibility of a single payer system.

At best, this law is based on incomplete evidence regarding the alternatives.

It is not the great accomplishment some pretend.

[eilen]

13. Wouldn't they then be covered by Medicare?

unless they start collecting SS at 62.. which would then give them 3 years of "free" coverage-- so then be self-limiting?

[mzmolly]

27. Yes.

That's what the article indicates if I'm reading it correctly.

[Roy Rolling]

14. glitch?

That is not a glitch, that is a loophole that benefits some who are not giant corporations. Typical propaganda---when a loophole benefits someone other than giant corporations or the wealthy it is a glitch.

[corpseratemedia]

16. I thought that was Obamas secret nugget(it was mentioned in the press during the o-care freeforall)

to expand medicaid as a type of medicare for all. Of course since many people voted against their own interests by voting republican last Fall, repubs are going to make sure that will never happen. I think that's also why they're going on about the debt ceiling bs. To starve medicaid so this can never happen. I was thinkin Ob admin put that in place so it would eventually grow to s/th like SS grew, over the years.

[cutlassmama]

17. that very well may have been his plan. It would be wonderful if it works

[PoliticAverse]

18. The AP article title was "A twist in Obama's health care law".

Latest Breaking News thread topics are suppose to use actual article titles:

4. When posting articles, always use the published title of the article as the title of the discussion thread. Additional information may be included in a thread title (in parentheses) if it helps to make the title more clear.

[Enrique]

25. the original said "glitch"

this article was massively revised from when it was originally posted.

[PoliticAverse]

28. They changed the title/article again. Now: "AP Exclusive: Medicaid for the middle class?"

[Bandit]

22. I was just denied Medicaid and my sole income is Social Security

I'm too young for Medicare by a year and I own my own home so they say I have too many assets....

[Unvanguard]

23. Can we please have more glitches like this one?

How about accidentally inserting a line expanding Medicare eligibility to birth?