HLC Endorses IPAB Repeal Legislation

Health Leaders Say Independent Payment Advisory Board “will affect patient access to care and innovative therapies”

WASHINGTON – The Healthcare Leadership Council today endorsed legislation introduced by Congressman Phil Roe (R-TN) that would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), the 15-member non-elected body that would have unprecedented powers to affect Medicare spending and patient access to care.

In a letter to Congressman Roe, HLC President Mary R. Grealy said her organization, representing leaders from various health sectors, “is deeply concerned about the impact the IPAB will have on patient access to quality healthcare. Because of the way in which the board is designed, the bulk of any recommended spending reductions will almost certainly come in the form of payment cuts to Medicare providers. This will affect patient access to care and innovative therapies.”

Ms. Grealy said today that her organization looked forward to working with lawmakers from both parties who have expressed concern over IPAB.

She noted in her letter to Roe that, while the statute creating IPAB states that any changes recommended by the panel should improve quality of care to Medicare beneficiaries, that is unlikely to actually happen.

“We believe this is unlikely,” she wrote, “because IPAB cuts must be achieved in one-year periods to meet arbitrary savings targets. Few quality improvements are scored by the Congressional Budget Office or the Office of Management and Budget as saving money in such a short timeframe.”

She noted that, in the last five years, the number of physicians no longer accepting new Medicare patients because of low reimbursement rates has more than doubled, a problem that IPAB cuts would only exacerbate.

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The Healthcare Leadership Council is a coalition of chief executives of the nation’s leading health care companies and organizations. Follow us on Twitter at @HealthInFocus.

Contact: Kelly Fernandez 202-452-8700
kfernandez@hlc.org