On the recordMarch 21, 2012
Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 1 minute. We're talking about the Independent Payment Advisory Board--advisory board. The appointed membership of the Board shall include physicians and other health professionals, experts in the area of pharmaco-economics or prescription drug benefit programs, employers, third-party payers, individuals skilled in the conduct and interpretation of biomedical, health services. Dot, dot, dot. These are people who will give us some recommendations, but they can't give us recommendations to take away services. They can't give us a recommendation to impose more costs on the Medicare beneficiaries. And when they give us their recommendations, Congress can act on it. And if we don't like it, we can change them. I think we have the Republicans trying to scare people. They come in and say ``Medicare costs too much.'' Well, if it costs too much, that's why we need this backup, to be sure that we're holding down costs. They say, ``it costs too much and therefore let's ends it.'' That doesn't make any sense. I think Americans should not be fooled. Mr. Chairman, I would like to now yield 3 minutes to my colleague from California, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Stark. (Mr. STARK asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
