Coburn WSJ OpEd: IPAB: A Bad Provision Even by ObamaCare Standards
A Bad Provision Even by ObamaCare Standards
ByTOM COBURN And PHIL ROE
In the four years since the Affordable Care Act was passed, health care in our country has become more complicated and expensive. The law has many troubling aspects, but the Independent Payment Advisory Board is among the worst and most dangerous. This is why, on Thursday, several members of the House will file an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Coons v. Lew. This lawsuit, filed by the Goldwater Institute on behalf of Dr. Eric Novack, an orthopedic surgeon, and Nick Coons, an Arizona businessman, challenges the constitutionality of IPAB.
Why is this board dangerous? Because there is nothing “advisory” about its vast powers. IPAB’s mandate is to deliver on one of ObamaCare’s central promises: Medicare cost-containment. The law gives this board sweeping authority to do so, with virtually no constraints.
The statute says IPAB can take any and all actions necessary to control Medicare costs. Although it is prohibited from “rationing,” that term is nowhere defined in the Affordable Care Act. Hence IPAB can control costs by lowering physician reimbursements—thus driving more doctors away from treating Medicare patients—or by reducing the services eligible for reimbursement. In other words, by rationing care.
The only meaningful statutory limit on IPAB’s power is that its actions must be “related to Medicare.” But this can be construed to include almost anything.