Responding to the wishes of hundreds of senior citizens in her district, state Senator Beth Bye (D-West Hartford) voted today to restore $54.5 million in state funding for the Medicare Savings Program, a state-subsidized program that helps poor elderly and the disabled pay for their monthly Medicare Part B premiums and save on their Medicare Part D prescription drug costs.
State officials estimate that as many as 113,000 Connecticut residents were impacted by the cut that was included in the bipartisan budget which passed the General Assembly late last year. Today’s legislative action rescinds that cut and restores MSP funding through June 30, 2018.
“I went throughout my district talking to dozens and dozens of senior citizens, and I want to give a big ‘thank you’ to them for their advocacy on this issue. It was a game-changer,” Sen. Bye said today. “The Medicare Savings Program is a hugely important program for them; it can literally be life-sustaining. So I was happy to cast my vote to restore funding for the MSP. But I will say I wish today’s action was part of a larger legislative action to address our overall mid-year budget deficit. We need a broad, bipartisan plan to address that deficit, not just a piecemeal plan.”