Congressman Charles Bass

March 22, 2012

WASHINGTON – Congressman Charles F. Bass (NH-02) supported legislation in the House of Representatives today that will repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a board of unelected bureaucrats that would have the power to restrict access to health care for Medicare beneficiaries as a means of saving money. The legislation also enacts tort reform changes to reduce out-of-control health care costs.

H.R. 5, the Protecting Access to Healthcare (PATH) Act, is a combination of two bills that Bass cosponsored: the Medicare Decisions Accountability Act, which repeals the IPAB in the new health care law, and the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Health Care (HEALTH) Act, which reforms frivolous medical liability claims that drive up the costs of health care by forcing doctors to practice defensive medicine. H.R. 5 passed the House this afternoon by a bipartisan vote of 223 to 181 and now awaits approval by the Senate.

Bass said:

"As we approach second anniversary of the health care law and the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments on the individual mandate, this legislation follows the will of a majority of Americans and repeals a key provision of the health care law that will ration care and reduce Medicare benefits for seniors.

"Our fight against this egregious law, which puts bureaucrats between patients and their doctors, is not over. I will continue supporting efforts to repeal the entire law and replace it with patient- and market-based policies that improve access for everyone while keeping costs low."

Last June, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed, with bipartisan support, an amendment offered by Bass that would ensure the Committee will oppose any plans that end Medicare, will recommend support for proposals to repeal provisions that provide an unelected, 15-member body to ration care for those 55 or older, and will work on proposals to preserve the program and save it from bankruptcy in 2024.

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