ASA joins coalition opposing unelected and unaccountable new Medicare payment Board
Chicago —
(January 11, 2010)
Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) authorized to recommend physician payment cuts
ASA has joined with 74 other provider and beneficiary groups in urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to oppose the inclusion of a Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) in any final health reform proposal. Legislative language currently included in the Senate reform proposal, H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, creates the unelected and largely unaccountable IPAB. The new Board would have the authority to issue binding recommendations to Congress that reduce Medicare spending including recommendations that would require reductions in Medicare payments to physicians. The recommendations would be automatically implemented unless Congress acted in opposition.
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS
Anesthesiologists: Physicians providing the lifeline of modern medicine. Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists is an educational, research and scientific association with 46,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and improve the care of the patient.
For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists Web site at www.asahq.org. For patient information, visit LifeLineToModernMedicine.com
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