WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins released the following statement today after voting in support of H.R. 5, the Protecting Access to Healthcare (PATH) Act.  This commonsense, bi-partisan legislation would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), set up in the President’s health care overhaul, and enact true medical liability reforms to lower health care costs for all.   Together, the reforms in this legislation will reduce the deficit by over $45 billion according to the CBO.

“The President’s health care law is chock-full of pitfalls, tax increases, government overreaches, and newly created bureaucracies, but perhaps the most outrageous and dangerous manifestation in Obamacare is the Independent Payment Advisory Board.   This board of 15 arbitrarily appointed bureaucrats is charged with slashing Medicare reimbursement rates, which will drastically impact the medicine and procedures available to our seniors.  The IPAB gives these bureaucrats unprecedented power with no accountability, no judicial review, and no requirement of transparency.  The simple fact is the American people don’t want, and certainly don’t need, bureaucrats coming between us and our doctors.”

“I was proud to vote for the repeal of the IPAB today, but I was also pleased to enact honest and straight forward medical liability reform designed to strengthen our healthcare system for all. Frivolous lawsuits have caused malpractice insurance rates to sky rocket. As a result, the price of health care for patients has followed the same trajectory and we have seen dramatic health care access issues for our rural communities. This legislation represents commonsense, bipartisan, fiscally responsible reforms that strengthen the doctor patient relationship and put the American people back in charge of their health care decisions.”

Congresswoman Jenkins expressed similar sentiments on the House Floor yesterday when speaking in favor of the PATH Act during floor debate.  The video of Congresswoman Jenkins’ remarks can be seen here.

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