John Ensign: “my amendment would impose an income test on the wealthiest seniors to ensure that they pay a greater share of their…”

“my amendment would impose an income test on the wealthiest seniors to ensure that they pay a greater share of their Medicare prescription drug coverage. A couple of years ago, we had a vote in the Senate that would income- relate--in other words, means test Medicare Part B, which pays for medical services, like doctors' services. Medicare Part D is the part that pays for prescription drugs. Mr. President, we already means test Medicare Part B. In order to put the Medicare program on better financial footing, we should extend the existing Medicare Part B income test to the Medicare prescription drug program. It makes no sense for Bill Gates's father to have his prescription drugs paid for by a schoolteacher or a firefighter or a police officer or any other middle-income American. This amendment says that a single senior, with an annual adjusted gross income over $80,000 and couples with annual adjusted incomes of over $160,000 a year would be responsible for a greater share of their Medicare Part D premium. I have a chart that shows that the vast majority of Medicare beneficiaries would not be impacted by this proposal. Almost 96 percent of Medicare beneficiaries would not be affected by my amendment. This means that only the wealthiest 4.3 percent of seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D will pay higher premiums in 2008. Wealthy seniors have the means.…”