Healthwatch staff
The Hill
7/18/2011
One glitch leads to another: Efforts to fix a glitch in the healthcare reform law could backfire on thousands of people with disabilities.
Republicans want to change a part of the law that made 3 million middle-income people eligible for Medicaid, but several advocates say simply counting Social Security benefits as revenue would hurt people with disabilities. Some 1.8 million people receive Social Security disability benefits but aren’t eligible for Medicare, and the law in its current form would allow many of them to get onto Medicaid.
Advocates’ concerns come as Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) introduced legislation addressing the issue on Monday. The White House says it favors a fix, but wants to protect people with disabilities.
Healthwatch’s Julian Pecquet has the story.
Read more about the ObamaCare law at The Hill’s Healthwatch
Related: Maine Gov. touts market-based healthcare solutions for rural America
