Week ahead: House takes another whack at ObamaCare

The House will vote to repeal an increasingly unpopular ObamaCare provision that’s designed to keep Medicare spending in check.

The cost-cutting panel of experts, known as the Independent Payment Advisory Board or IPAB, hasn’t actually gotten off the ground yet. And it won’t officially form until Medicare spending exceeds its expected growth rate.

Still, it’s been the target of heavy Republican opposition, with critics condemning the idea as a “death panel” that’s trying to ration healthcare for seniors.

{mosads}Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), lead sponsor of the repeal bill, has called the provision “among the worst and most dangerous” in the Affordable Care Act.

Most Democrats have called those claims extreme and insist that funding cuts would still require approval from Congress.

It will be the second time the House has voted to repeal IPAB, but the first time with Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress. The last bill passed 223-181.

The House had been slated to vote on repealing IPAB along with another maligned piece of the Affordable Care Act, the medical device tax.

Legislation to repeal the medical device passed 280-140 on Thursday, with nearly 50 Democrats supporting it, but the IPAB vote was postponed.

The two votes against ObamaCare come as members of both parties are anxiously awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision on King v. Burwell.

That case, which threatens subsidies for 6.4 million people, could come as early as Monday, though it’s widely expected to be one of the final decisions of the court’s term, which runs through the end of June. 

Members of a GOP House panel are also turning their attention to Medicaid spending.

The Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee will hear from federal auditors, who recently reported on issues with the government’s payment to Medicaid providers.

For example, the Department of Health and Human Services approved nearly $10 billion worth of Medicaid spending to support programs “that would not otherwise have been eligible,” according to the report.

The hearing will be led by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.), who said the report “raises serious concerns about the administration’s management and oversight of Medicaid funds.”

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House votes to repeal ObamaCare tax: http://bit.ly/1ChU4Dt

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