AMA Applauds Bipartisan House Bill to Repeal IPAB

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                 January 23, 2013

Statement attributable to:    
Jeremy Lazarus, M.D.   
President, American Medical Association

“The AMA is pleased that legislation to eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) has been introduced in the House with bipartisan support by Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. IPAB is a panel that would have too little accountability and the power to make indiscriminate cuts that adversely affect access to health care for patients. Patients and physicians are still struggling with the frequent threat of drastic cuts from the broken SGR Medicare physician payment formula. IPAB would be another arbitrary system that relies solely on payment cuts. We must move away from these broken systems and focus on new payment and delivery models that give physicians the ability to improve patient care and reduce costs to stabilize Medicare for seniors now and in the future. We appreciate the leadership of Reps. Roe and Allyson Schwartz on this important issue and look forward to working with them and other bipartisan cosponsors to see this legislation passed.”

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Media Contact:

Heather Lasher Todd
AMA Media Relations
202-789-7421
Heather.Lasher.Todd@ama-assn.org 

About the American Medical Association (AMA)
The American Medical Association helps doctors help patients by uniting physicians nationwide to work on the most important professional, public health and health policy issues. The nation’s largest physician organization plays a leading role in shaping the future of medicine. For more information on the AMA, please visit www.ama-assn.org.