How should Americans not love the new national health care law? We’d love to be able to count the ways – but there simply isn’t enough space on this page.
A new reason to hope the law is repealed surfaced last week.
Generally, American citizens become eligible for health care assistance through the Medicare program when they reach 65 years of age. People who decide to retire before then must supply their own health insurance if they lose coverage provided by employers.
But that is about to change, courtesy of the new health care law. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials revealed the law contains a provision we frankly doubt most members of Congress knew was there when they enacted the statute.
Under the new law, many people who retire from work before they qualify for Medicare will be given coverage under the Medicaid program – even if they are not the poor and/or disabled people Medicaid was intended to cover. Married couples earning as much as $64,000 a year could qualify for Medicaid through the new law.
As many as 3 million people may be able to retire early and sign up for Medicaid while they wait to qualify for Medicare.
Of course, that will add billions of dollars a year to the cost of Medicaid. Because the program is funded jointly by state and federal governments, it will put more strain on already tight state budgets.
“I don’t generally comment on the pros or cons of policy, but that just doesn’t make sense,” Medicare’s chief actuary, Richard Foster, said last week.
Indeed.
Few members of Congress who voted for the new health care law really understood it. But Americans are now coming to realize all too well the law was a serious mistake. It should be repealed as soon as possible.
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