Phil Gingrey: “Another great question, and I am sure the gentleman from the 12th, from southeast Georgia, as he has had town hall…”

“Another great question, and I am sure the gentleman from the 12th, from southeast Georgia, as he has had town hall meetings in his district all the way from Augusta to Savannah, is hearing the same concerns that I have been hearing. In fact, these were the major concerns and have been the major concerns of the AARP, and that is, what happens to these retirees who have had a great health insurance plan after their retirement that includes a very generous prescription drug benefit from their employer. There was this great fear, has been a great fear, that all of the sudden employers may, since there is an opportunity, an option under Medicare, drop their plans; and so we have made sure that we incentivize employers to keep those plans, to keep providing for those men and women who in some instances have worked 40 years for the company, very loyally working for the company. This Medicare Modernization and Prescription Drug Act actually gives 28 percent, 28 percent of coverage up to $5,000 per individual to employers, a tax-free supplement to incentivize them not to drop those plans. The AARP and its 35 million seniors are quite happy with that, and I think we have solved that problem.”