[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3848]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  IPAB

  (Mr. CASSIDY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CASSIDY. Madam Speaker, 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.''

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