On the recordMarch 21, 2012
We want to hold down the costs in health care for Medicare, itself. The cost of health care is going up for all health care coverage; but Medicare, if it goes up too much, it's a real problem. So in the Affordable Care Act, we try to put in place ways to hold down costs by reorganizing the delivery of care. We have some other strategies. We hope it will work. But for a backstop, if it doesn't work, there is this Independent Payment Advisory Board, and they will give us some idea as to how to hold down health care costs. Now, it seems to me, the biggest objection is, once they give their recommendations, we can accept them, we can change them, or we can let them go into effect. I think the biggest problem is that if nothing happens, those health care costs go up; and that's what preserves the right of Congress, is to let nothing happen. And this is not how to hold down costs. This is to let the costs go up. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
