Vote Alert
“YES” on H.R. 2576.
October 26, 2011
NTU urges all Representatives to vote “YES”
on H.R. 2576. Introduced by Rep. Black (R-TN), this bipartisan bill would modify
the definition of income for purposes of determining eligibility for certain
Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program applicants. The legislation
would also revise qualifications surrounding subsidies for health insurance
purchased through exchanges created under the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (PPACA).
In
establishing new criteria for these programs, PPACA stipulated an income
measure that excluded non-taxable Social Security and pension benefits. Omitting
these income sources has the potential to significantly understate a
household’s financial resources and could lead to a dramatic and unintentional
expansion of a subsidy meant for only the poorest of Americans. Estimates
conducted by Richard Foster, Chief Actuary at the Center for Medicare and
Medicaid Services, reveal that a married couple earning $64,000 – well above
400 percent of the federal poverty level – could become eligible for Medicaid
unless the PPACA provision is amended.
By
counting the entire Social Security benefit as income, H.R. 2576 would ensure
that health care subsidies are more carefully targeted to those in need, a move
the Congressional Budget Office projects would reduce the deficit by $13
billion over 10 years. Although NTU continues to support efforts that would
repeal PPACA in its entirety, H.R. 2576 is a bipartisan cost-saving measure
which should be enacted right away.
Roll call votes on H.R. 2576 will be significantly
weighted in our annual Rating of Congress, and a “YES” vote will be considered
the pro-taxpayer position.
If you have any questions, please contact NTU Federal Government Affairs Manager Brandon Greife at
(703) 683-5700
