[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 49 (Monday, March 26, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E442]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  PROTECTING ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE ACT

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                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 21, 2012

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5) to 
     improve patient access to health care services and provide 
     improved medical care by reducing the excessive burden the 
     liability system places on the health care delivery system:

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this bill because 
it is a misguided attempt at scoring political point that combines two 
bad policies and puts them into one piece of legislation. First, it is 
obvious that the House Republican leadership has brought this bill to 
the floor the day after introducing their budget in an attempt to 
distract American seniors from the damaging effects it would have on 
Medicare. That budget proposes to end the Medicare guarantee, and 
shifts the rising costs of healthcare onto seniors and disabled 
individuals.
  Second, let's look at the facts. Medicare costs already grow at a 
slower rate than the private insurance industry. We took a huge step in 
strengthening Medicare and the overall health system in the Affordable 
Care Act (ACA), which includes virtually every cost containment 
provision recommended by health care experts. The Independent Payment 
Advisory Board (IPAB) is simply one of the tools in the ACA to help 
contain costs. It is a failsafe provision that only comes into effect 
if other reforms in the ACA do not contain costs or Congress chooses 
not to act to implement new measures that would build upon the kind of 
changes we made in the Affordable Care Act. Those reforms have already 
begun to lower Medicare growth rates to historically low levels, which 
prompted the CBO to project that IPAB will not even become necessary 
until sometime after 2022.
  Everyone here knows that IPAB is prohibited by law from rationing 
health care, increasing premiums, initiating cost-sharing, and 
recommending benefits cuts--and we also all know that rationing by the 
insurance industry is precisely what the Republican budget proposes to 
do. Republican attacks on IPAB are simply a diversion from the fact 
that House Republicans want to put insurance companies back in charge 
of American's health care choices. We should not be trying to repeal 
helpful provisions of the ACA to divert attention from the larger 
issue: the House Republican budget and its attack on the Medicare 
guarantee.

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