Subject: Support for Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare Act
Dear Representatives Roe and Ruiz,
On behalf of the undersigned medical organizations, representing more than 400,000 physicians and
the patients they serve, we are pleased to support your bill, the Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare
Act (H.R. 849), which would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). For a number
of reasons highlighted below, we agree with you that now is the time to seize the moment and
eliminate this unelected, unaccountable government board before it has a chance to become
operational.
From the beginning of Medicare, members of Congress have played an essential role in shaping
policies that best meet the needs of their communities and constituents to ensure that the health care
system is equipped to care for diverse populations across the country. With the advent of the IPAB,
however, the people’s elected representatives will no longer have power over Medicare payment
policy. Instead, these major health policy decisions will rest in the hands of 15 unelected and largely
unaccountable individuals. Even worse, if IPAB fails to report recommendations or never becomes
operational, this power will rest solely in the hands of a single person — the Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services.
…
Read full letter here
