Robert Hurt votes for Medicare bill

Congressman Robert Hurt (R-Virginia) released the following statement after voting in favor of the Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare Act, H.R. 1190, which would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) established by the President’s healthcare law.

“The Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) is a panel of fifteen unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats that will be given a staggering amount of control over the care Medicare patients receive.  The President’s healthcare law grants these appointed individuals substantial authority to slash Medicare payments to providers and eliminate payments for certain treatments and procedures altogether while minimizing the role of Congress in this process.  Decisions regarding the services Medicare beneficiaries receive should go through Congress – not a panel of unelected appointees who cannot be held accountable by the American public.  Despite this Administration’s continued insistence that Washington knows best, IPAB does not represent the best interests of the American people.  I was proud to cosponsor this legislation and see it pass the House with bipartisan support.  While we work to replace the President’s healthcare law with substantive reform based upon market-oriented principles, I remain committed to minimizing its harmful effects on the American people.”