![\"\"](\"https:\/\/advantagehcconsulting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Repeal.png\")
<\/h3>\n<\/h3>\nOption to pass the buck to appointed board now gone.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n While the\u00a0created by the Affordable Care Act was never convened, many Medicare providers are glad to see it finally killed off in the Bipartisan Budget Act signed into law Feb. 9.<\/p>\n Background:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>The 2010 law created the appointed board, which would make compulsory Medicare payment cut recommendations if certain spending triggers were met. Congress could block the recommendations, but only with \u201ca supermajority vote in Congress\u201d of two-thirds, notes Rep.\u00a0Jason Lewis\u00a0<\/strong>(R-Minnesota) in a release. The panel\u2019s decisions would be \u201cfree from judicial review and delegates far too much power to the Executive Branch.\u201d<\/p>\n Health care industry opponents of the Board sometimes called it \u201cSuper-MedPAC,\u201d noting the\u00a0Medicare Payment Advisory Commission\u2019s\u00a0<\/strong>penchant for recommending rate freezes for hospices. Members of Congress disliked that the power to control Medicare\u2019s purse strings would be taken away from them and handed over to an appointed body.<\/p>\n \u201cThe IPAB was a mistake when first drafted,\u201d insists finance expert\u00a0Tom Boyd\u00a0<\/strong>with\u00a0Simione Healthcare Consultants\u00a0<\/strong>in Rohnert Park, California. \u201cLike now, 535 people in the Senate and House could not come to a consensus on policies and budgets. The passing of the buck to an appointed board was an excuse to avoid responsibility,\u201d Boyd says. \u201cIt remains to be seen if Congress can do better without it,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n \u201cRepealing the IPAB has been a priority since its inclusion in the Affordable Care Act,\u201d says the\u00a0National Association for Home Care & Hospice<\/strong>. \u201cWhile this advisory board was never officially established, or made actions, it posed a threat to payment rates and other potential cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n If the IPAB had formed and made cuts, \u201cCongress and the Administration would have had limited ability to avert their work,\u201d NAHC notes in its member newsletter. \u201cEliminating its existence will protect providers from unfair and unjustified cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n Repeal of the 15-member board came at a price, however. The\u00a0Congressional Budget Office\u00a0<\/strong>estimates that killing the panel will increase federal spending by $17.5 billion over 10 years, notes\u00a0The New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cRepealing IPAB is one of the rare bipartisan agreements in health policy,\u201d says\u00a0Heritage Foundation\u00a0<\/strong>senior research fellow\u00a0Robert Moffit\u00a0<\/strong>in a statement. \u201cMany Democrats as well as Republicans have long understood that this body could do serious harm to seniors.\u201d<\/p>\n If you have any question book a call here for a free consultation:<\/span> Advantage Healthcare Consulting<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Source- SuperCoder<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"