WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jason Lewis (MN-02) issued the following statement after voting for H.R. 849 – Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare Act of 2017, as it passed the House:
“I voted yesterday with Republicans and Democrats to get rid of the Obamacare-established ‘Independent Payment Advisory Board’ (IPAB) – which could have unilaterally made sweeping changes to Medicare spending affecting millions of our seniors.
“This board represented a huge bureaucratic overreach and was thankfully never put in place, but in order to preserve seniors’ access to health care in the Second District, it was important that the House take action. While sensible reforms need to be made to ensure Medicare is still viable for seniors in the future, IPAB was a total misstep and I’m glad to have been able to protect the doctor-patient relationship our seniors have through Medicare.”
Background: H.R. 849 terminates the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) which has the unprecedented authority to unilaterally alter Medicare policy, could ultimately reduce seniors’ access to health care, and puts the government at the center of our health care system.
IPAB:
Puts the government – rather than patients and doctors – at the center of our health care system by allowing the board to unilaterally alter Medicate policy
Puts 15 unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats – whose decisions can only be overridden by supermajority vote in Congress – in control of Medicare. If no board members are appointed, the HHS Secretary would be solely responsible for developing the legislation to cut Medicare to achieve the savings target.
Is free from judicial review and delegates far too much power to the Executive Branch
Calls for new cuts in addition to the more than $800 billion Obamacare took from Medicare to spend on new enrollment programs
While the current Medicare program is unstable, allowing a panel of bureaucrats to make critical health care decisions instead of patients and their families is the wrong approach
