year the bill was signed by newly elected governor Janet Mills. Taxes LePage advocates eliminating Maine's income tax, believing it to be an impediment to economic growth for the state. He stated that his goal was to do so before the end of his second term, and he proposed a constitutional amendment to do so, though he expected the legislature to reject it. He opposed one bipartisan plan to replace the current progressive income tax rates, which have a top rate of 7.95%, with a 4% flat income tax rate and a broader, higher sales tax because he believes it is not revenue-neutral. After his re-election he expressed support for the general idea of increasing or broadening the sales tax to reduce or eliminate the income tax which he later proposed in his 2015–2016 budget. He has said he will "spend the rest of my days" fighting opponents of his tax proposals, especially in the legislative election year of 2016. Welfare reform Welfare reform was a centerpiece of LePage's gubernatorial campaign. In December 2011, citing a budget shortfall, LePage proposed sweeping changes to MaineCare (Maine's Medicaid program). Those changes include dropping 5,000 to 6,000 low-income senior citizens with disabilities from the Drugs for the Elderly program (which provides low-cost prescription drugs to low-income elderly patients), and ending Medicaid coverage for up to 65,000 recipients, including many who are disabled or elderly. Reimbursement to hospitals and other medical providers would be reduced by up to 10 percent, which could trigger the elimination of up to 4,400 health care jobs. The changes could also result in higher premiums and higher co-pays for people with private health insurance. LePage expressed an intent to reform welfare eligibility requirements, though he did not specify how he would do so. He also supports lifetime limits on welfare support, requiring recipients to perform work in the community, and a tiered payment system that gradually removes benefits as recipients earn more money working, rather than cutting them off entirely at a certain income level. Speaking before a conservative women's group in Falmouth on October 14, 2013, LePage said that "About 47 percent of able-bodied people in the state of Maine don't work ... It's really bad." It is uncertain where LePage obtained his figures since Maine's unemployment rate is actually below the national average. According to an analysis posted on PolitiFact, only about ten percent of "able-bodied people"