Posted on 12/15/2012 7:19:57 AM PST by Libloather
Democrats: Put Obama's Medicare board on the table
By Elise Viebeck - 12/15/12 10:05 AM ET
The healthcare law's controversial Medicare board should be on the table in deficit-reduction talks, House Democrats said this week.
Killing the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), which Sarah Palin decried as a "death panel" in June, could ease Republican concessions as part of a year-end deficit deal, Dems said.
"I think everything has to be on the table," said Rep. Dan Boren (Okla.), one of healthcare reform's most consistent Democratic opponents.
"Anything that could help along the way to get some agreement," said Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.).
IPAB is one of the most-hated parts of President Obama's signature healthcare reform law and remains a major target for the GOP.
Created to reduce Medicare spending, it would cut the program's reimbursement rates when per-capita outlays become too great.
Conservatives have long wanted to repeal the 15-member board, arguing that its design is undemocratic, since the panel's decisions would take effect unless Congress blocks them.
Opponents also say the board would encourage de facto rationing within Medicare by limiting provider payments.
These arguments are not exclusive to the right.
Scott voted for a bill to repeal IPAB along with six other Democrats in March, less than half of the Democrats who signed on as cosponsors to the original repeal bill.
That measure, from Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), had at least 20 Democratic supporters, including liberals such as Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).
In the end, IPAB repeal was offset by medical tort reform, which cut down on the vote's backing from outside the GOP.
Frank slammed GOP leadership as "irresponsible" for combining the two, which alienated Democrats.
"They talk about wanting to have bipartisan cooperation but they don't want it," Frank said in March.
"They're taking two very different issues and putting them together in an effort to coerce Democrats … This is nothing more than an overreach to appease the right wing."
With about two weeks until Jan. 1, it remains to be seen whether Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) can hammer out a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff."
Democrats have been successful in taking many entitlement reforms off the negotiating table, including Medicaid cuts and, possibly, raising Medicare's eligibility age.
But putting IPAB on the chopping block would come with its own set of challenges.
Repealing the board would mean gutting its Medicare savings, creating the need to find equivalent cuts elsewhere — $3.1 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Democrats said that adding IPAB to talks could still bring the parties together as they confront the spending cuts and tax hikes set to take effect in January.
"We've got to look at everything. There is no sacred cow. Even though Congress has passed the healthcare bill, we've got to look at everything," Boren said.
Scott agreed, calling it a "win-win."
"There is something there for everybody … That's something where Republicans gain a little bit."
He described his opposition to IPAB, which bars members from having outside employment.
"If we're going to look at Medicare to get savings, and you eliminate having any existing, practicing physicians on the board to help determine how we get these savings, you're losing an opportunity," Scott said.
Death Panel Board just another Government agency, and formed only to HIRE MORE GOVENMENT WORKERS?
Death Panel Board just another Government agency, and formed only to HIRE MORE GOVENMENT WORKERS?
The death panel boards could be another arm of a TSA union. One arm to perform x-rays, body scans, groping for “lumps”, etc; the other arm to decide, based on that info, what procedures and drugs are allowed.
“Can anyone explain me just how 15 members of a Death Panel board will be able to OVERSEE and make judgments on ALL the cases that will come before them.
Death Panel Board just another Government agency, and formed only to HIRE MORE GOVENMENT WORKERS?”
The intention is probably to set policy, not oversee individual cases. Statistics say that (just picking numbers) a hip replacement is not effective after age 75. Therefore, if somebody breaks a hip and they’re 76, they don’t get a replacement. They’re offered palliative care or “managed end-of-life.” Statistics say that treatment of stage (4?3?2?) liver, kidney, bone cancer only ads 3-5 years of life therefore no cancers other than stage 1 are treated if you’re over (55?)
Now, if you’re famous, or a rich contributor, all this goes out the window. An example of how government works in medicine is that the governor of Texas decided that Larry Hagman (the actor) who destroyed his liver through drinking would get a new liver over a Texas Instruments engineer.
Also, there’s a provision in all these plans, England’s, Canada’s and Obamacare, which allows a non-elected appointee to declare that you, John Smith, who writes all those bad things about Obamacare, don’t get any coverage whatsoever. This tends to damp down public dissent.
Don't think it will be that.
The Death Panel will oversee the reports from a DR., and make decisions from that. (I think).
BUT, how in the world will they be able to VIEW, approve or reject the millions of reports coming before them. 15 people will do this?
15 people? wow. As long as it take any government agency to get anything done. You will be dead, buried and the 12 month mourning period over. OK, now I see their point/sar
Based on that alone, it needs to be abandoned.
Has the panel already been manned? I thought I heard it was and there was not a Medical Expert/Dr., on it.
Shades of HITLER. Josef Mengalea lives
The ipab is just a seed planted by leftists with enough impetus to grow in the desired direction. Imagine each of these 15 being department heads of tens of thousands of civil servant bureaucrats beneath them to administer in all the hospitals and clinics of the land. In-between these two levels fill in all the required supervisors, managers, assistants, agencies, and so on and so forth....
Your statement illustrates an important point. The fact is NOBODY can say for sure what this panel will do, and what it'll morph into over the years. Remember how the dept of energy was supposed to get us off foreign oil? What happened to that mission? Now it bundles money for Solyndra and the like. The same thing will happen here. Whatever it's mission starts out as, it will grow in size and scope until the original mission is forgotten.
Like everything 0bama proposes, there are no specifics and people hear whatever they want. We could start out with a panel to prevent fraud, and end up with 15 unelected unknown faces (plus their staffs) deciding who lives and who dies based on God only knows. 0bamacare is just the structure, like the frame of a building. We have yet to see all that will come of it.
Perhaps the board, which has proved to be enormously disliked, was stuck in nobamacare so it could be negotiated away later?
Now we are getting to the real MEAT of this Death Panel, of which I already suspected the answer to my own question, and it SCAREs the hell out of me.
But, when you have so many out of a JOB, they will be more than glad to enlist in the service to their master Obama.
Remember the Jews turned on other Jews, just to stay alive. Fault them?? I don't know.
The IPAB is similar to the NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) board in the UK’s NHS. The IPAB makes policy decisions on medical protocols, reimbursement rates to doctors and hospitals, what drugs are authorized, etc. The truly insidious part of IPAB is that it takes two thirds of Congress to override its decisions. Thus, the IPAB will essentially be operating independently since it would be very difficult to get the votes necessary to overturn its decisions.
Actually, the IPAB is critical to Obamacare to get the cost containment it supposedly wants.
YOU can count on that happening. Then when they need some experiment or research done, just who do you think will be the LIKELY Guinea Pigs will be?
Josef Mengele will live again.
"""""We could start out with a panel to prevent fraud, and end up with 15 unelected unknown faces (plus their staffs) deciding who lives and who dies based on God only knows.""""......
YES, 15 unelected unknown faces (scary that), Plus their staffs, and their staffs, and their staffs. There will be no end to this.
Then you will hear, even perhaps your best friend working for them, telling you "we are only doing for the GOOD of the people, doing our best", like proper little lemmings.
Hitlers Regime was staffed by such, most willing to obey, just for the adoration of their leader and a higher Rank and PAY GRADE. They will do this willingly.
critical?
it says that IPAB will only save 3 billion over 10 yrs, or 300 million a year. That’s nothing.
that’s no containment.
I’m curious about why the GOP insisted on tort reform as a package with repealing IPAB. Tha artcile says a bunch of dems were on boar dwith repealing it but the GOP demanded they also go along with tort reform and they blaked at taht.
Seems to me if they could have gotten the IPAB repeal without tort reform they should have done that. Take what you can get and worry about tort reform later.
Another huge operation is the centralization of all health care and it’s drug treatment transactions. Why does the federal government need to keep records on every America’s private health care information.
I agree. They are lying right through their teeth. Don’t buy it.
The IPAB will grow in power as Obamacare is implemented. It is like NICE in the UK's NHS.
Killing the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), which Sarah Palin decried as a "death panel" in June, could ease Republican concessions as part of a year-end deficit deal, Dems said. "I think everything has to be on the table," said Rep. Dan Boren (Okla.), one of healthcare reform's most consistent Democratic opponents. "Anything that could help along the way to get some agreement," said Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.).Thing is, they are lying. Vote no, or vote present, or don't vote at all!
An elderly gentleman I know is a victim of the death panel. He's had a bad heart for years and it's about time to replace his pacemaker. He recently received a letter from the insurance company telling him an "independent panel" had notified them he doesn't qualify for it. The fear in his eyes and in his voice as he told me about it was heart-wrenching. He knows it's a death sentence.
Something tells me these Dems have family members who have received similar letters. I can't think of any other reason they'd bring this up.
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