Health

Uproar Over Obamacare‘s ’Rationing Panels’ Intensifies

So long death panels. Hello “rationing” board.

An independent panel authorized by President Barack Obama’s health care law to control excessive Medicare cost increases is drawing heavy fire from Republicans. The Independent Payment Advisory Board may not be appointed for another couple of years, and remains in suspended animation to see if the brouhaha dies down. Nearly every health industry lobbying group is pushing for an Obamacare repeal, as are some consumer advocates. GOP lawmakers call it a rationing panel, and at least one has suggested seniors will die from its decisions.

IPAB has the power to force Medicare cuts if costs go up beyond certain levels and Congress fails to act. Although Medicare’s long-term finances are troubled, it’s unclear if short-run costs will rise enough over the next decade to trigger the board’s intervention. If that happens, the law explicitly forbids IPAB from rationing care, shifting costs to retirees or restricting benefits.

Yet the uproar is getting louder.

“Senior citizens will lose control over what they actually get in Medicare,” GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann told conservative bloggers in Minneapolis last month, “because a politically appointed 15-member board that‘s unelected and unresponsive to the will of the people called IPAB will make the decisions about what care we get and what care we don’t.”

After their own plan to essentially privatize Medicare for future retirees ran into trouble, Republicans became more vocal about IPAB. At a press conference of the GOP Doctors Caucus, Georgia Rep. Phil Gingrey suggested the board could leave a trail of bodies.

“Under this IPAB … a bunch of bureaucrats decide whether or not you get care, such as continuing on dialysis or cancer chemotherapy,” said Gingrey, an ob-gyn physician. “I’ll guarantee you, when you withdraw that, the patient is going to die.”

But IPAB — an unusual delegation of power by Congress — may exist only on paper for a long while. The administration seems in no rush to set it up.

Just this spring, Obama had proposed beefing up IPAB to squeeze more out of Medicare. But as opposition grew, and prominent House liberals and AARP voiced their own objections, the administration downplayed that idea. In recent testimony before two House committees, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius described IPAB as just a “backstop” and a “failsafe.”

“If Congress is actually paying attention to the bottom line of Medicare, IPAB is irrelevant … and it never triggers in,” she said.

Obama hasn’t made any moves to set up the new agency, said Sebelius, but has only consulted about possible board candidates. Those members would have to be confirmed by the Senate, a fight the administration may be unwilling to pick when it can’t even get Medicare chief Don Berwick approved.

“The more interesting question is whether it will ever get off the runway,” said economist Robert Reischauer, one of the public trustees overseeing Medicare finances. “Can they find 15 people willing to serve under the conditions laid out in the legislation? Will the Senate confirm them?”

It wouldn’t be the first time cries of rationing forced Democrats to pull back. During the congressional health care debate, Sarah Palin denounced a plan to have Medicare pay for voluntary end-of-life consultations between patients and their doctors. Although the “death panels” accusation was discredited, the idea got dropped.

Rationing is a criticism Americans respond to, said Reischauer. “They are fearful that health reform might include limitations on their ability to access any care they consider worthwhile.”

HHS spokeswoman Erin Shields said comments such as Gingrey’s amount to “scare tactics” and IPAB is “absolutely prohibited” from rationing. It could recommend savings that don’t involve cuts, she said.

Backers say the board is meant to counterbalance a Congress addicted to spending, unable to turn down lobbyists for hospitals, doctors, drug companies, nursing homes, power wheelchair companies and other businesses that depend on Medicare, and whose executives and employees make political contributions.

“The system now is that people come up here that work the Congress like crazy, lobbyists making millions of dollars,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., one of IPAB’s biggest supporters. “The Congress often doesn’t know how to say no. And the Congress has the practice of never saying no. And costs go up.”

Dispassionate experts can do a better job, Rockefeller contends. Some of his colleagues don’t like IPAB “because they don’t get to … do the big connection with the lobbyist,” he added. Under the law, Congress can override the board’s recommendations with its own savings, as long they add up to the same total.

Critics say their concerns can’t be dismissed as easily as that, because IPAB is an attempt to cap Medicare spending. A stingy approach could stifle promising new medical innovations. And if IPAB leads to steep payment cuts, doctors and other providers will be reluctant to take Medicare patients, limiting access even without explicit rationing.

The early evidence is not particularly alarming.

For example, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service tried last fall to estimate the impact of projected IPAB cuts and came up with about $60 per year, per beneficiary from 2015-2019. Annual Medicare spending during that period was estimated to increase from an average of $13,374 per enrollee in 2015 to $15,749 in 2019.

Updated cost projections from other government offices differ on whether IPAB cuts will be required in the short run. The Congressional Budget Office says no. But Medicare’s Office of the Actuary says yes, in 2018 and 2019. Under the law, it’s the actuary who makes the call.

That’s keeping critics on edge.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Comments (72)

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  • Socialism_Is_The_New_Black
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 1:51pm

    Wish some angry space aliens would teach us a lesson by using an EMP reset. EMP this place sending us back to to a time in the The Industrial Revolution. Reboot!

    Report Post »  
    • VegasGuy
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 2:02pm

      And we can all mail handwritten letters-to-the-editor? NOT!

      Report Post » VegasGuy  
  • Richard Compton
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 1:21pm

    Between class warfare and convincing the young and disinfranchased that the world is messed up because of what the older generations did and the outright socialist agenda being sold to the youth of America, do you suppose that they might limit access to healthcare to those who are willing to go along quietly?

    Report Post »  
  • Viking64
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 12:09pm

    Palin always seems to speak the truth and after all the ridiculous attacks by the left , is most always found correct.

    Obama and his elite bunch of progressive idiots always seem to speak non truths and most always seem to be found wrong on about everything from Obama Care to amnesty for illegal’s, but the media gives them a pass. They stay in power, the ignorant accept it and America continues to decline at a devastating rate ! palin called these panel’s fopr what they really are, Obama lied, lied ,and lied!!
    Pelosi is to stupid to be called a good crimnal, how ever she will stay rich from her Botox stocks!

    Report Post »  
  • encinom
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 11:18am

    GOP losing the debate over the debt ceiling, need something to make the base afraid of the black man in charge, lets go back to an oldie but goodie, lets revive the bogus death panel stories.

    Report Post »  
    • VegasGuy
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 11:52am

      If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it’s a death panel.

      Report Post » VegasGuy  
    • YEAHYOURIGHT
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 12:05pm

      Seriously?! The race thing is so old and boring. Nobody cares abouth being called a racist anymore.

      And this stuff is scary, all right. Scary and true. The half-black president himself said he would tell grandma to forgo procedures and “take a pain pill instead.” It’s just common sense that rationing under any label must take place to cover an aging population with the same medical infrastructure. Duh.

      And the newsflash is that ratio.img already occurs. Many doctors limit the number of medicare patients in their practice by limiting available medi are appointment slots. They can’t afford to treat them with the government decreasing reimbursements.

      Report Post »  
    • IAMMADDOG
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 12:50pm

      Sorry ENCINOM but NOBODY is winning the debt ceiling debate. 80% of this country is NOT on board with Obama’s revenue (code for HIGHER TAXES).

      Report Post »  
    • Socialism_Is_The_New_Black
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 1:31pm

      Politics aside, how can we not ration healthcare with the lack of money and resources we will have once this goes into full effect? Seriously? Do you know how many will qualify for medicaid? Healthcare reform was needed but this plan was rushed and is destined to be dismantled. Obama has done nothing but decimate the Democratic party. The only hope the left has now is a coup d’etat by Hillary Clinton running in 2012 or endure four years of a republican president and hope for the best in 2016. Four more years of Obama signing executive orders will have 60 to 70 percent of Americans never wanting to see another self-proclaimed democrat in office ever again.

      Report Post »  
    • Mike N
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 6:29pm

      Hey ENCINOM,

      We’re just trying not to give the government too much power. How would you feel if you were seriously ill and our concern over the leanings of this panel turned out not to be our imaginations?

      Report Post »  
  • Dismayed Veteran
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 11:15am

    Not to worry. When dying time comes, the progressives will assure you get enought morphine so you do go screaming out. After all, they want a calm and reassuring fundamental transformation.

    Report Post » Dismayed Veteran  
    • Zorro6821
      Posted on July 20, 2011 at 2:18pm

      All you sheep need not worry about death panels. The new Budget Proposal will cut more medicare and social security. By the time these politicians get their way, we won’t need death panels, as Medicare will be so watered down that we will be dropping like flies. Social security will be the nail in the coffin. I do not look at these programs as entitlements. We paid into the fund and have a right to the coverage or refund my money. If you buy car insurance and you have an accident, should the insurance that you paid into cover you? The only entitlements that I see are Medicaid and Welfare and that is a whole different Ball game. I have no appetite for bureaucrats cutting my coverage because the government overspends on endless wars, importing poverty and foreign aid. I do not see politicians cutting their benefits that we pay for, but yet they try to convince you that you must make the sacrifice for the sake of the country. What bull and yet people actually agree.

      Report Post »  
  • jb.kibs
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 10:57am

    know what should never change. definitions of words. why?
    because when you write a law, using words, and those words change, the law changes.
    THAT is why. end of story…
    liberals, their whole concept is to interpret words loosely and, all together, change the meaning of them. democrats, by that definition, destroy laws, history or anything written… because, it all means nothing when words can change overnight.

    Report Post »  
  • Brizz
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 10:39am

    What, rationing is a part of socialism? Just wait until the camps are set up for re-educating those not in lockstep with the mainstream propaganda.

    Report Post » Brizz  
    • ConsiderThis
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 10:50am

      Remember Sarah Palin said Obama was introducing death panels – and they mocked her!

      Report Post »  
    • jb.kibs
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 11:04am

      it was convienent at the time… “toys-R-us kids” ONLY do things that are convienent to them. they are lazy in all senses of the word. i’ve never seen a liberal fight for personal responsibility, i’ve never heard a liberal admit something, they did, was their fault and that they feel the need to evolve and learn from that mistake. ever. it’s always someone elses fault and they are always the victim. And it’s all because… they don’t wanna grow up, because if they did, they couldn’t be a toys-R-us kid… ;)

      Report Post »  
  • junkmaninohio
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 10:23am

    Obama has, according to Bill O’Reilly, 80 million under 30 yr. old voters, ready to reelect him to another 4 year term. 80 million young voters who want a European style government controlled welfare state. If true, goodbye America.

    Report Post »  
    • jb.kibs
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 11:06am

      if true, goodbye socialist America. Hello revolution, good day new America. ;)

      Report Post »  
    • American_Bearcat
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 11:21am

      psh I am nineteen and I want to buy a gun because I feel like something is going to happen. I sure didn’t get to vote in the last presidential election but I sure as hell wont vote for Mr. Obama

      Report Post » American_Bearcat  
    • Socialism_Is_The_New_Black
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 1:36pm

      It sad to say but that the past few generations we have raised. They were coddled and given everything.

      Report Post »  
    • ConsiderThis
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 2:26pm

      If Obama gets another term, those eighty million kids are going to spend the rest of their lives paying off a 20 trillion+ debt. And once that reality sinks in they‘ll be voting for Bristol Palin for President and wondering why their own kids can’t see the light. :)

      Report Post »  
    • Tracking
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 6:48pm

      You’re right. It is true. Also there are millions of Union voters from Teachers Unions to Auto workers and Service Employees unions, thousands really, Hispanic Voters and “other” foreign voters, Black voters, college voters and so much more. Even the Asian population that live here in the U.S (China and others) will vote Obama. No doubt, much to my dismay, he will most likely win. Add into that mix, voter registration corruption (non-exixtent voters, double registrations and outright fraud, our goose may be cooked.

      It will take a massive record breaking out-pouring from Republican voters and others if he is to be run out of office. I hate to say it, but I don’t see the turn-out,on our behalf… yet…We better prepare for another 4 years.

      Report Post »  
  • sWampy
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 10:13am

    You know they have to plan to be a dictator ship, because these boards are going to let those that elected them die, one of the main goals of the progressives.

    Report Post »  
  • Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 10:07am

    IPAB = Death Panel

    Report Post » Lesbian Packing Hollow Points  
  • Doni609
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 10:00am

    Now just how on earth was that incompetent, dumb, conservative wench Sarah Palin able to see this over a year ago…….wow. Can‘t be because she’s smart; must have a crystal ball…….or something!

    Report Post »  
  • nysparkie
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:59am

    Uproar Over Obamacare‘s ’Rationing Panels’ Intensifies: Gee ya think another name might be what Sarah Palin called it? Death Panels, ya think? If they hold back care for the sickest, is not the same as speeding them along their way to their maker? I’d say it is causing Death by Panel when they ration care… Maybe the lamestream press will start to make an issue… heck who am I kidding.

    Report Post » nysparkie  
  • timej31
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:25am

    Obama lies Grandma dies its that simple people. If this panel doesn’t see that you contribute to the overall good MEANING you work for a living and produce income to the system and NOT LEACH it and SIT ON YOUR LAZY A55 all day you will be rationed. Which would be fine with some people who wishes to see the non producers in our society be eradicated by any means necessary.

    Report Post » timej31  
    • loriann12
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:34am

      It’s already begun, don’t let them fool you. We have Tricare Prime (through the military, which is a government program). They recently turned all of our prescriptions over to Express Pharmacy. It used to be that if your doctor wanted you to take a name brand drug, instead of a generic, all he had to do was specify so on the script. I have epilespy and my doc said generics are good for most things, but not anti-seizure meds. They are allowed to be from 80% to 120% of the name brand in efficiency. If I get 120% one month and then 80% the next, I may not be covered. So he specified on my script name brand only. Express Scripts disapproved it because he didn’t get prior approval. Tricare also disallowed a digital MRI stating it was experimental. I guess I’m getting too expensive for them.

      Report Post »  
    • chazman
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:42am

      The federal government and the State Controlled Media are the true enemies of the American people.

      Report Post »  
    • JRook
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 10:06am

      As usual Michele Bachmann is either misinformed or purposely being inflammatory to feed the angry mob. The IPAB or something similar has existed for Medicare since its inception. The purpose of which is to review medical procedures, particularly new ones to determine if they are effective. Initially they are deem experimental until there is sufficient clinical evidence to justify allocating scarce resources to them. While I appreciate M. Bachmann’s concern for grandma, her support of the Ryan approach will be a factor of 20 times more restrictive and result in absolute rationing. But once again it is the facts that get in the way of good grandstanding and fear baiting.

      Report Post »  
  • angelcat
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:15am

    Where are those who always accuse Republicans of wanting to kick grandma and grandpa under the bus now? Why aren’t they screaming about this? Could it be because they don’t dare criticize their chosen one and his Obamacare, no matter how bad and scary and expensive we are finding it will be?

    Report Post »  
  • Ghandi was a Republican
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:14am

    This whole thing is a scheme to assist the die-off of the unindoctrinated vote.
    The progs are desperate to assist their punk Public school voters (and mickey mouse) vote and will justify anything in their radical quest for a totalitarian society. They even have a scheme to prioritize in favor of some over others. Who will these be? The progs exploit anything and everything for their enslaved and oppressed vote classes they have engineered for decades (century)..

    Report Post » Ghandi was a Republican  
  • brntout
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:11am

    And no one has asked about that big old 680 billion he set aside from the original stimulus plan.Can I see what’s left in the account?

    Report Post »  
  • mllyjul
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:09am

    “Nearly every health industry lobbying group is pushing for an Obamacare repeal” …….Anyone with half a brain is pushing for repeal of government run health care a.k.a Obamacare!

    Report Post »  
  • rdk
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:05am

    Are we finally discovering Obama’s plan to balance the budget? He will be trying to find early graves for the old people. That will straighten out medicare and social security and allow him to spend more on his favorite causes, like giving money to those who have never been productive..

    Report Post »  
    • tarbush
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:45am

      Commrades, you must realize that this is in the best interest of the collective. As commrade Lenin said ‘Thethe most important thing when ill is to not lose heart’. Is it not right for the few to sacrifice for the many? Same may die from lack of treatment but members of the collective that are too lazy to go out and get coverage will be preserved.

      Report Post »  
  • Volsense
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 8:47am

    Like Obama says, these are NOT death panels, they are end of life counselors. The wording is what its all about.

    Report Post »  
    • tasmanianwabbit
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:00am

      And the war in Libya is not a war, just a “kinetic military action”. !@#*%?@! lawyer weasel words.

      Report Post »  
    • mikem1969
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:11am

      A death panel by any other name is still a death panel, when that stop life saving therapy, drugs, and procedures, the patients die.

      Report Post »  
    • thegrassroots
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:29am

      In 2012, BHO gets to stand helplessly by and watch while his very own obamacare is repealed and replaced by America. 2012 will not be a good year for BHO, because he will witness, with his very own eyes, how disrespected and despised he is by America; because, all the wool BHO tried to pull over America’s eyes will be unraveled and flushed. BHO’s decline into disgrace could be faster than his rise to the White House, the fastest rise and fall in America’s History. If he falls as far down as prison — that will be one heck of an adjustment. It will be interesting to watch!

      Report Post »  
  • cntrlfrk
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 8:39am

    This is why Obamacare was never anything but a tax.

    Once the government gets enough control over the system, the simply begin rationing benefits, but continue charging us for the services.

    Whaddya gonna do? Buy your own Health Insurance??

    BWAHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAH!

    .

    Report Post » cntrlfrk  
    • Bill Rowland
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 10:10am

      Does anyone see the irony, all citizens will have to prove they have health insurance but you don’t have to prove you are a citizen. I am 70 and have problems caused by my military career (agent orange). I’m a prime candidate for “cut off his medical care, he is not productive” with no consideration for the 23 years I gave this country.

      Report Post »  
    • cntrlfrk
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 10:44am

      Yep.

      It’s the answer to the Baby Boomer balloon that is hitting retirement age.

      Getting this large group of people through the Social Security and Medicare system is going to be like pushing a golf ball through a garden hose.

      Obama is working hard to reduce the number of baby boomers, so he can promise new, young voters more things we cannot afford.

      I was listening to Dennis Miller last night and I agree with him. Another increase in taxation, and I am jumping off the train. I am not working myself to death to support Obama voters. I’ll go underground, and off-grid.

      .
      .

      Report Post » cntrlfrk  
  • GadsdenPatriot
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 4:05am

    Call a spade a spade; it’s a death panel. The european way is to forget the panel and just let old folks wait for hours in the waiting room until they’re found hours later on the floor dead.

    Report Post » GadsdenPatriot  
  • ghostsouls
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 2:57am

    It was said this was gonna happen from day 1. Palin was right…and they kept denying it. Are Americans going to have to go testify before congress to get kidney dialysis? Knee surgery? obama wants to give out free medical care, as long as the government has the say so in who actually gets the care? So, the elderly, white, conservatives, republicans, churchgoers will be denied care….. well, that’s one way to get rid of your opposition!

    Report Post » ghostsouls  
    • Teaparty-grammy
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 3:50am

      That was my first thought–seniors overwhelmingly do NOT support Obama–ergo, they are the ones targeted by this “death panel”. I am NOT reassured whenever the government tries to take more power for itself, and replies to objections that it would “NEVER be used that way”. The Social Security number was NEVER going to become a “national identity card”, and yet, you can’t open a bank account, get credit, medical insurance or anything ELSE without giving it out. Identity theft is rampant, using–guess what–the “national identity number”, or Social Security number.

      So no, I am not reassured when govt. rassures me they would “NEVER” use a particular power they crave against the people of this country. They damn well could, and WILL, sooner or later, if the power is given to them. Considering that Obama hates white people in general, and OLD white people in PARTICULAR, and is a LIAR in the bargain, I am even LESS reassured by HIS assurances about this panel–ESPECIALLY when he has people in his administration like Bill Ayers who can chat casually about the possible need to “eliminate 25% of the population” to bring their plans to Communize the country to fruition.

      Report Post » Teaparty-grammy  
  • Akbarjonnie Shaheed
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 2:02am

    The People have been lied to by the president and demos. They told the people health care cost would go down and we see nothing but increase after increase. The president and demos have made their stand and The People are ready to make their charge. The change is close to launch. You want be able to hold it back. America is the land of the free and home of the brave who are trained and ready to fight for freedom in the mother land to abolish “the agenda”.

    De Oppresso Liber

    Report Post »  
    • Teaparty-grammy
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 3:53am

      Gee, Congress and ODumber repeatedly LIE to us, then cannot understand why we don’t believe their assurances that this panel is a good thing? Go figure!

      Report Post » Teaparty-grammy  
  • miles from nowhere
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 1:46am

    Obamacare was not about healthcare, it is about the government having complete control over humans. This is an unconstitutional Law and intelligent people know it. Obama lied to all of us just for one purpose and that was to advance a crooked socialist agenda. Why do you think Biden said this is a BFD.

    Report Post »  
    • Teaparty-grammy
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 3:56am

      That is why “Obamacare” was passed behind closed doors, in the dead of night, on weekends, etc. and ODumber just CAN‘T understand why we don’t trust him OR this law he cooked up in spite of 3/4 of the country’s opposition to it? It is NOT about health care, as you say, but about total vontrol. And the cost of it would finish the job of bankrupting the country, if that ship hasn’t already sailed by the time this abortion of a law takes effect. I think Nancy “we have to pass it so you can find out what is in it” Pelosi had a lot of gall asking for an exemption to Obamacare for her Congressional district, considering her part in ramming this monstrosity down our throats.

      Report Post » Teaparty-grammy  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on July 19, 2011 at 1:09am

    A King Cobra that is changed in name to a ‘loving reptile of romance’ is still utterly deadly; death panels are still the same thing no matter what you call them — same outcome.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Teaparty-grammy
      Posted on July 19, 2011 at 3:59am

      Amen. Where do you think those billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare Obama promised to help finance Obummercare are going to come from? It took me about 30 seconds to figure out there was a connection between THAT promise and his desire for a “death panel”, oh, excuse me, a REVIEW panel (a rat by any other name . . . etc.) Oh, but our opposition to his plans are only because we are too stupid to understand them. More like we are not stupid ENOUGH to be taken in by this B.S., much to his dismay.

      Report Post » Teaparty-grammy  
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