Kentucky lawmaker helps House pass bill to end Medicare advisory board

U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) joined the majority on Tuesday in passing the Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare Act. The bipartisan bill was crafted to eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board, one of the most controversial and debated elements of the Affordable Care Act. The legislation was approved by a vote of 244 to 154.

“Repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board will ensure that a group of unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats cannot unilaterally cut Medicare spending and alter Medicare policy to the detriment of our seniors without proper oversight of Congress,” Whitfield said. “Health care decision making should be left to patients and their doctors, not the government.”

The Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare Act essentially repeals the sections of the Affordable Care Act that set up the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a group of 15 appointees that work to establish cost constraints on Medicare.

H.R. 1190 also has the support of more than 500 of the most influential medical-professional and patient organizations in the country representing care providers, patients and the private business community.