Throughout my career in public service, I have learned firsthand that the wisdom of our senior West Virginians makes our communities stronger. I have always believed that, after a lifetime of hard work, seniors deserve to retire with dignity and peace of mind. From my time as Governor when I made it a priority to secure a hot and cold truck for every West Virginia county to receive Meals on Wheels deliveries, to my time as Senator when I secured pensions and healthcare for nearly 100,000 coal miners and my continued efforts to protect Social Security and Medicare, I have always kept the well-being of West Virginia seniors as a guiding principle.
That’s why I’m thrilled that over the past two weeks, my office has launched the Serving Our Seniors tour. My staff has traveled to all 55 counties, including Summers County, to provide information to West Virginia seniors about the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act that will lower their healthcare costs across the Mountain State. I was proud to support the Inflation Reduction Act – signed into law on August 16, 2022. The IRA lowers healthcare costs for seniors by capping Medicare Part D out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 a year, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, capping the price of insulin at $35 a month and providing seniors on Medicare with free vaccines– including COVID-19 and shingles vaccines.
As we all know, our nation is facing a serious debt crisis, and I am committed to working with my colleagues to find a commonsense pathway to address our long-term spending problems. That said, I have been proud to lead the charge in Washington to ensure Medicare and Social Security are off the table in the debt limit discussions. We need to get our fiscal house in order, but we cannot do it on the back of our seniors.
West Virginians keep their word and honor their commitments to one another. I am committed to protecting our seniors by making good on the promises we’ve made to them. I greatly appreciate the Summers County Council on Aging and their wonderful employees for hosting my staff over the past two weeks. The Serving Our Seniors tour has provided West Virginia seniors with critical information on the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act, and I look forward to seeing the positive impacts of those benefits for decades to come.
