Bill would repeal ACA’s rationing bodies

A measure introduced on Thursday by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) would repeal a number of provisions in the Affordable Care Act to protect patient-doctor relationships and prevent healthcare rationing.

The Four Rationers Repeal Act, Roberts said, aims to repeal rationing bodies that seek to limit options for care in an effort to implement a one-size-fits-all healthcare policy.

“In the absence of a full repeal of Obamacare, we need to fight the further intrusion of the federal government into the relationship between doctors and patients,” Roberts said. “This intrusion through four unaccountable government agencies is hidden under the cloak of innovation and prevention and is one of the most damaging threats to the quality of health care in America. My bill repeals the four rationing bodies that seek to limit options for care under the misconception that health care is one size-fits-all.”

The measure would repeal the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute and the Independent Payment Advisory Board.

The CMS Innovation Center gives the government new power to cut payments, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force determines what is covered by health plans, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute limits treatment options and the Independent Advisory Board decides which treatments are covered under Medicare.

“I’ve been talking about the four rationers for a long time and what it means to patients,” Roberts said. “What really scares me, as I watch all the other warnings and broken promises come true, is what is going to happen to Kansans back home when the warnings about the four rationers come true. Access to quality care will be a thing of the past for Americans.”