[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 92 (Wednesday, July 7, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7754-S7755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Smith, and Mr. 
        Bingaman):
  S. 2618. A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to 
extend medicare cost-sharing for the medicare part B premium for 
qualifying individuals through September 2005; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, Senator Baucus and I are pleased to 
announce the introduction of legislation to extend cost-sharing 
assistance to qualifying individuals for the Medicare Part B premium 
through September 2005. Qualified Individuals are a vulnerable 
population with income between 120 percent and 135 percent of the 
federal poverty level and limited assets. It is estimated the monthly 
Medicare Part B premium will be around $75 in fiscal year 2005. Let me 
put this into real numbers, this extension will provide over $900 
dollars of annual assistance to Medicare beneficiaries who earn less 
than $12,600 per year.
  In the Medicare discount drug card program, Congress has targeted 
this same population with the transitional assistance program. These 
same seniors are eligible to receive $600 in assistance on their 
Medicare-approved drug card both this year and next. We need to extend 
this program, and the President agrees. An extension is part of his 
fiscal year 2005 budget. It does not seem right for us to assist these 
Medicare beneficiaries with some of their health care costs and 
relinquish our assistance in other areas. This program has been in 
existence since 1997 and has been extended every year thereafter 
because it targets help to low-income Medicare beneficiaries. I urge 
Congress to act on this important legislation.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise with my colleague and friend 
Chairman Chuck Grassley to introduce The Qualifying Individuals' 
Program Extension Act. This bill would extend avery important program 
that provides assistance to low-income Medicare beneficiaries. The so-
called QI-1 program, which will expire at the end of

[[Page S7755]]

this fiscal year, currently pays Part B premiums for Medicare 
beneficiaries earning less than $12,570 this year. That's about $1,050 
a month. Medicare Part B premiums are expected to increase to $75 next 
year. That's a substantial sum for beneficiaries living on a fixed 
income of $1,000 a month. 7.5 percent of their total income, in fact, 
and that's just for premiums for one part of the Medicare program--they 
must still pay coinsurance and the deductible for Parts A and B.
  In enacting the Medicare prescription drug benefit last year, 
Congress acknowledged that seniors with incomes up to 150 percent of 
the Federal Poverty Line--in 2004, that's about $14,000 a year, or 
$17,000 per couple--need some additional help in paying their drug 
bills. I viewed the low-income drug assistance provisions as one of the 
great successes of the prescription drug bill. We should not give with 
one hand and take away with another by allowing the QI-1 program to 
expire--hurting the very same people that we tried to help in the 
Medicare prescription drug bill.
  The QI-1 bill is a truly bipartisan effort. Democrats, particularly 
my colleague Senator Bingaman from New Mexico, have long championed the 
QI-1 program. And the Administration's budget for Fiscal Year 2005 
includes an extension for QI-1s. I urge my colleagues to support this 
important program and work with me to get it passed as quickly as 
possible.
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