Washington, DC—Today, U.S. Representative Jim Renacci (OH-16) released the following statement on his vote to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB, within the President’s health care law.

“Today, I will vote to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board because the quality of care our seniors get should not lie in the hands of a small group of unaccountable bureaucrats who meet secretly in some back office,” said Renacci. “Medicare recipients and their doctors should be the only ones making decisions about what type of health care procedures to pursue. Along with $500 billion in cuts, IPAB is yet another danger to Medicare found in the President’s health care bill.”

Created in the President’s health care law, IPAB is a board of up to 15 individuals who would have broad authority to cut reimbursements paid by Medicare to doctors. Many health care and medical experts believe doctors will be forced to stop taking Medicare patients – a “de facto” rationing of care for seniors – if reimbursement rates are cut further than their already low rates. More than 375 groups have come out in opposition to IPAB, including the American Medical Association, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, Easter Seals, the Alliance of Specialty Medicine, and the Veterans Health Council. Also included in the repeal legislation is medical malpractice reform, one of the best ways to reduce costs without impacting the level of care delivered.

Rep. Renacci is serving his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he is a member of the Financial Services Committee. Prior to his election he worked as a Certified Public Accountant in the health care industry, and owned and operated over 60 other businesses in the automotive and sports management fields.

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