Twenty-five members of Congress on Thursday filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s Independent Payment Advisory Board filed by the Goldwater Institute.
The IPAB is a 15-member board that will set reimbursement rates for Medicare and will determine which treatments, procedures, and drugs will be covered under the government program. Their decisions will impact over 48 million seniors.
According to a release by Goldwater, there has "never in American history been another board created with such broad authority to impact government rulemaking that cannot be challenged in court or repealed."
One of the leaders seeking to repeal the IPAB is Rep. Phil Roe (R., Tenn.), who is also a medical doctor. While his bills have passed the House, they have not been considered in the Senate. Dozens of cosponsors to Roe’s bills include several Democrats. Congressman Barney Frank (D., N.Y.) has called for the repeal of the IPAB.
If the Senate next year were to pass a bill repealing the board, President Obama would likely veto it. Goldwater says the timing for the Supreme Court to take up the case is critical, according to Goldwater.
"That’s why it’s so important that the Supreme Court take this case now," said Darcy Olsen, president of the Goldwater Institute. "We don’t have time to wait for another president to be elected. If the Independent Payment Advisory Board isn’t stopped before it has a chance to put recommendations in place, it will be too late."
Roe indicated in a prepared statement the far-reaching and "devastating impact" the IPAB could have on access to care.
"As a physician with more than 30 years of experience, I find the ability of this Board to intervene in the relationship doctors have with their patients alarming," said Dr. Roe. "I have serious concerns that this unelected, unaccountable bureaucracy could have a devastating impact on seniors’ access to care, and I hope the Court will hear this case."
"Since the president signed his signature health care bill into law, we’ve seen many concerning parts of the law come to light. Perhaps one of the most troubling parts of Obamacare is the Independent Payment Advisory Board," Roe said. "The IPAB will consist of fifteen unelected bureaucrats who are granted substantial powers to reduce Medicare spending. IPAB’s proposals could, for example, cut reimbursement for specific services that it determines not to be of high value."
Roe said, "every case is unique and must be treated that way." The board is a "serious threat to senior’s access to medical care" he said, and he will continue to fight it in Congress and by supporting legal challenges.
The other 24 members of Congress who signed onto the brief to support the Goldwater Institute’s case are Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D. (R., Okla.), Rep. Dan Benishek (R., Mich.), Rep. Diane Black (R., Tenn.), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.), Rep. Paul Broun (R., Ga.), Rep. Mike Coffman (R., Co.), Rep. John Fleming (R., La.), Rep. Trent Franks (R., Ariz.), Rep. Phil Gingrey (R., Ga.), Rep. Paul Gosar, D.D.S. (R., Ariz.), Rep. H. Morgan Griffith (R., Va.), Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R., Ks.), Rep. Thomas Massie (R., Ky.), Rep. Tom McClintock (R., Calif.), Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R., Miss.), Rep. Pete Olson (R., Texas), Rep. Bill Posey (R., Fla.), Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.), Rep. Todd Rokita (R., Ind.), Rep, Matt Salmon (R., Ariz.), Rep. David Schweikert (R., Ariz.), Rep. Lee Terry (R., Neb.), Rep. Rob Woodall (R., Ga.), and Rep. Ted Yoho (R., Fla.).
The Supreme Court is expected to decide to hear the case by June 30, 2015.