The American Medical Association praised the reintroduction Wednesday of a bill to repeal the controversial Medicare payments board in President Obama's healthcare law. Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) reintroduced his bill to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB)—a panel of 15 healthcare experts with the power to cut Medicare payments to doctors if spending grows faster than a prescribed rate. The AMA and other healthcare providers strongly oppose the IPAB, which would essentially have the power to make Medicare cuts now reserved for Congress—and thus subject to intense lobbying by groups trying to avoid a cut to their payments.
