The Hill News

As lawmakers and patients learn what the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) really will mean for seniors, the topic has become a contentious one across the country.

IPAB is a 15-member panel of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats responsible for making recommendations to cut Medicare costs in years when spending exceeds targeted growth rates. Congress has given a small group the power to make decisions by majority vote with only the necessity that a quorum of 8 be present. This panel has, in essence, eternal life, and can determine what funding is given to pay for medical care.  The law says no rationing but cutting off funds can have the same effect and stifle innovation. 

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