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Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015

Floor Speech

Date: June 18, 2015
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Senior Citizens Entitlements and the Safety Net Health and Health Care

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Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1190, the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act.

The President's healthcare law included the creation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB. Despite its name, IPAB is the opposite of independent, Mr. Speaker. IPAB is a group of 15 unelected members, unaccountable to the American people. IPAB's job is to control Medicare spending. That sounds nice, but they only have one way to do that, by cutting reimbursement rates for doctors and hospitals.

Seniors rely on Medicare, as well as the doctors who will see them. If this unelected, unaccountable Board cuts reimbursement rates, doctors will stop seeing Medicare patients. That is bad for the 180,000 seniors in my district.

Support this bill, and let's abolish IPAB. I look forward to a bipartisan vote in support of H.R. 1190.

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