WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Pete Olson (TX-22) today acted to protect senior’s access to Medicare by voting to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a board created under Obamacare comprised of 15 unelected bureaucrats whose purpose is to save money by restricting access to healthcare for Medicare beneficiaries. Under the law, the board’s decisions cannot be challenged in the courts – unlike other agency rules – and carry the full force of the law. The bill, H.R. 849, Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare Act, passed the House by a vote of 307 to 111.
“IPAB is essentially a Medicare rationing committee with no accountability to the American people,” Rep. Olson said. “These unaccountable bureaucrats can recommend Medicare cuts that automatically go into effect unless Congress can block or make changes within a short deadline. A group with no judicial, administrative or public accountability should not have the power to make Medicare cuts that reduce the quality of care for our seniors. I was proud to vote to repeal this sweeping bureaucratic power and protect our seniors’ access to quality healthcare. I urge my Senate colleagues to quickly take up and pass this common sense legislation.”