In a 17-5 vote, the House Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee approved a measure that would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a report from The Hill.
The IPAB would be a 15-member team of scientists and physicians tasked to keep Medicare per-beneficiary spending down, starting in 2014. The members of the IPAB would be President-appointed and Senate-confirmed.
Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) said the IPAB would displace Congress from the role of monitoring Medicare policies, according to the report. Although the IPAB would issue recommendations on how to cut Medicare provider payments if Medicare costs outpace a targeted rate, Congress could still propose a savings plan with a majority vote. Congress can also overturn the IPAB's recommendations with a two-thirds supermajority.
Two Democrats — Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey and Edolphus Towns of New York — voted in favor of the repeal. Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the leading Democrat on the full committee, argued the repeal of the IPAB was unnecessary, saying the Republican-led effort is only "an attempt to discredit the Affordable Care Act and embarrass the President," according to the report.
Votes for the repeal of the IPAB still need to occur in the full committee and on the House floor, which are expected to take place by the end this month. It is unlikely the repeal will stand, as it would still have to go through the Democrat-led Senate and President Barack Obama's desk.
The IPAB would be a 15-member team of scientists and physicians tasked to keep Medicare per-beneficiary spending down, starting in 2014. The members of the IPAB would be President-appointed and Senate-confirmed.
Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) said the IPAB would displace Congress from the role of monitoring Medicare policies, according to the report. Although the IPAB would issue recommendations on how to cut Medicare provider payments if Medicare costs outpace a targeted rate, Congress could still propose a savings plan with a majority vote. Congress can also overturn the IPAB's recommendations with a two-thirds supermajority.
Two Democrats — Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey and Edolphus Towns of New York — voted in favor of the repeal. Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the leading Democrat on the full committee, argued the repeal of the IPAB was unnecessary, saying the Republican-led effort is only "an attempt to discredit the Affordable Care Act and embarrass the President," according to the report.
Votes for the repeal of the IPAB still need to occur in the full committee and on the House floor, which are expected to take place by the end this month. It is unlikely the repeal will stand, as it would still have to go through the Democrat-led Senate and President Barack Obama's desk.
More Articles on the IPAB:
GOP Wants to Veto PPACA's Medicare Cost-Cutting Board
Republicans Ramp Up Attacks on Healthcare Reform's CLASS Act, IPAB
Independent Payment Advisory Board: 6 Things to Know