On the recordMarch 21, 2012
I'm a doctor. And as a doctor who still treats patients, I understand how important it is to have health care for the millions of Americans who depend upon it, particularly Medicare. Therefore, I fully support the repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a new government bureaucracy of 15 unelected, unaccountable officials created by the President's health care law. Now, as it turns out, the IPAB can only save money by slashing payments to physicians, to Medicare Advantage plans and prescription drug plans--things that our seniors depend upon daily. I cannot imagine why my Democrat colleagues support making it more difficult for a senior to obtain the care that she needs and deserves. The faith that centralized planning of the IPAB will be successful in controlling costs brings to mind Samuel Johnson's quote regarding second marriages: ``It is the triumph of hope over experience.'' ____________________
