Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean called the IPAB “essentially a healthcare rationing body” in an editorial published by The Wall Street Journal last week. Mr. Dean wrote that board members will have the ability to stop the use of treatments they don’t like by setting low reimbursement rates to deter healthcare providers.
The IPAB is a panel of 15 healthcare experts tasked with making targeted cuts in Medicare payments if the program’s overall spending exceeds a certain amount. The board also spurred the “death panels” accusation from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Along with Mr. Dean, other federal Democratic lawmakers have pushed back against the cost-cutting board. Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) have cosponsored the Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare Act of 2013, legislation that would repeal the portions of the PPACA establishing the IPAB. The House version of the bill has 22 Democratic cosponsors.
The IPAB was supposed to issue its first set of Medicare spending reduction recommendations in January 2014. However, CMS determined earlier this year that the 1.15 percent projected five-year average growth in Medicare per capita spending doesn’t exceed the program’s target growth rate. Therefore, the IPAB will not make cost-cutting recommendations next year.
More Articles on the IPAB:
AHA Supports IPAB Repeal
Senate Republicans Reintroduce Bill to Repeal IPAB
Top Healthcare Gurus Uninterested in Filling IPAB Seats
