Congressman Tim Griffin (AR-02) issued the following statement after the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee approved the Medicare Decisions Accountability Act (H.R. 452):
“As a proud co-sponsor of H.R. 452, I applaud the Subcommittee for approving this critical bill, which would repeal one of the most offensive parts of President Obama’s health care law – the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). Giving an unelected 15-member board the power to dictate health care decisions to America’s seniors is outrageous. Putting the federal government between patients and their doctors and cutting Medicare without looking at ways to reduce costs through innovation and reform is not the way to save Medicare. Today’s vote is another step toward patient-centered solutions and preserving Americans’ right to make their own health care decisions.”
The unelected 15-member board, which will consist of the President’s appointed members, could propose cuts to Medicare as early as January 2014. Even more troubling, the IPAB’s Medicare cuts will automatically be imposed on seniors unless Congress passes legislation that produces the same level of spending cuts.
H.R. 452 would repeal this provision of the President’s health care law. It now awaits consideration by the full House Energy and Commerce Committee.
