H.R. 1190, the Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare Act of 2015, would repeal the provisions of ObamaCare providing for the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), otherwise known as the “death panel.” Representative Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.), who sponsored H.R.1190, described IPAB as “an unelected, unaccountable panel of bureaucrats” and “one of the worst parts of the president’s health care law.” Following passage of the bill, Roe released a statement saying in part, “After practicing medicine for more than 30 years, I can tell you that no two patients are the same; that different approaches are required for different needs. IPAB is blind to this fact — and will ration seniors’ access to care through one-size fits-all payment policies.”
The House passed H.R. 1190 on June 23, 2015 by a vote of 244 to 154 (Roll Call 376). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Constitution does not authorize the federal government to interfere in healthcare, let alone ration it by deciding who should and should not receive medical care.
