Washington, DC– Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) voted in support of H.R. 849, the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2017 – bipartisan legislation she cosponsored to eliminate the Obamacare Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) that has the unprecedented authority to unilaterally alter Medicare policy that could ultimately reduce seniors’ access to health care.
“The Independent Payment Advisory Board is an ill-conceived part of Obamacare that puts unelected bureaucrats in charge of Medicare decisions,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “The government should not stand between seniors and their doctors, and I am pleased to vote in support of this bipartisan bill to protect Medicare.”
Background:
H.R. 849 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2017
H.R. 849 terminates the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) which has the unprecedented authority to unilaterally alter Medicare policy that 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 Medicare policy
- Puts 15 unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats – who’s decisions can only be overridden by a 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
- Allowing a panel of bureaucrats to make critical health care decisions instead of patients and their families is the wrong approach
- This bipartisan bill would eliminate IPAB
Groups supporting include:
60 Plus Association
New York Regional Society of Plastic Surgeons
New York State Neurological Society
New York State Ophthalmological Society
New York State Rheumatology Society
New York State Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Inc.
New York State Society of Plastic Surgeons, Inc
New York State Urological Society
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