Jay Rockefeller: “I point out that this amendment would help seniors making, on an annual basis, between $9,500 a year and $11,900 a year.…”

“I point out that this amendment would help seniors making, on an annual basis, between $9,500 a year and $11,900 a year. It would simply take the principles of the Medicaid Program and carry them forward, and simply say those folks deserve to get help in the Medicare payment because they are so desperately poor. This is well established in Medicaid. We are now applying it to a new area and saying, rather than 120 percent of poverty, we are saying 120 percent of poverty to 150 percent of poverty. It is very sensible. It helps people. This program is going to sunset in 5 years, but their costs are not going to sunset in 5 years. We think it is an amendment which both sides are willing to vote for.”