The American Hospital Association (AHA) has thrown its support behind an effort by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a cost-control entity created by the Affordable Care Act.
Cornyn and other Republican senators reintroduced a bill to repeal the IPAB, which is a committee of 15 healthcare experts that would make cuts in Medicare payments if the program’s spending exceeded budget targets.
“America’s hospitals support the repeal of IPAB because its existence permanently removes Congress from the process of making decisions regarding Medicare payment, and threatens the important dialogue between hospitals and their elected officials about how hospitals can continue to provide the highest quality care to their patients and communities,” AHA Executive Vice President Rick Pollack wrote in a letter to Cornyn.
