Malloy Vetoes Bill Funding Medicare Savings Program
As expected, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have provided funds for a popular program that helps thousands of low-income disabled and elderly people pay their medical bills. It sets up a potential override effort by the legislature.
The Democratic governor rejected the legislature’s plan to restore $54 million for the Medicare Savings Program, which serves as many as 113,000 citizens. Even though it is officially known as the Medicare Savings Program, the program relies on Medicaid — rather than Medicare — money for funding.
Malloy cited budgetary concerns, saying the numbers don’t add up. “The bipartisan budget changes adopted to fund the Medicare Savings Plan are wishful thinking, double-counting and pushing problems off into the future,’’ he said in his veto message. “This bill has essentially done nothing to the state’s budget operations in order to fund restoration of the Medicare Savings Plan by either adding new revenue or reducing state spending levels.’’
House Republican Leader Themis Klarides said she’s not surprised by Malloy’s rejection of the proposal. But she said it will cause real pain for those who rely on the program.
Read more: http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-malloy-veto-medicare-savings-20180112-story.html