Democrats Oppose Sen. Cornyn's Amendment To Strike Medicare Commission

Press Release

"Rather than making tough decisions about how to pay for new spending now, this proposal would delegate the Commission broad spending reduction powers beginning in 2013"

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, today offered an amendment to Sen. Baucus' Chairman's Mark that would eliminate a Medicare Commission - an unelected board with unprecedented power over health care financing for the entire country. Democrats objected to the measure and voted it down during the Finance Committee's markup of health care reform legislation.

Excerpts from Sen. Cornyn's remarks

"Rather than making tough decisions about how to pay for new spending now, this proposal would delegate the Commission broad spending reduction powers beginning in 2013.

"I think the best example of why this will not work is the physician payment formula that we revisit, seems like almost on an annual basis, where Congress has repeatedly acted to prevent the Sustainable Growth Rate spending reductions from going into effect. The same mark also includes a new Commission, interestingly enough, to achieve spending reductions also includes a fix for the SGR spending reduction target. The CBO seems to agree with the concerns addressed by my amendment.

"The Medicare Commission has also raised significant concerns among provider groups like the American Medical Association because it would bestow unprecedented power on an unelected board over health care financing for the entire country. The Medicare Commission essentially allows Congress to spend money now, but avoid responsibility of determining how to pay for that spending. I would urge my colleagues to support my amendment to strike the Medicare Commission."

Background

* The Chairman's Mark would establish an independent Medicare Commission to develop and submit proposals to Congress aimed at reducing Medicare spending. The Commission would submit proposals to Congress starting in 2013.

* According to CBO, "These projections assume that the proposals are enacted and remain unchanged throughout the next two decades, which is often not the case for major legislation. For example, the sustainable growth rate (SGR) mechanism governing Medicare's payments to physicians has frequently been modified to avoid reductions in those payments."

* While this Commission would be modeled in many ways after the expertise of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, MedPAC doesn't always get it right. As the Wall Street Journal reported, "The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, created by Congress in 1997, has recommended more than $200 billion in cost cuts in the last year alone that lawmakers have ignored."

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