Sebelius: Let's Talk about This Rationally
 Most Americans are paying close attention to America's economic health, but the Hill is doing plenty that could affect your personal health as well. This week, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is on the hot seat in two House hearings about the future of American health care. In yesterday's House Budget showdown, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) took the opportunity to flesh out one of the most lethal aspects of the President's plan: Medicare's Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB. I say "lethal," because it could lead--not only to the death of patients, but also to the death of innovation. This Board, made up of 15 unelected members of the President's choosing, will be the sole authority over what kind of care--if any--we receive.
Starting in 2015, IPAB will be tasked with bringing down medical costs--and unless Congress can find a super-majority to oppose them, IPAB's recommendations will carry the force of law. The Board could deny payment for certain care or medications, change the service options doctors have, and drive expensive, life-saving treatments out. Instead of discussing the options with your doctor, IPAB will be sitting at the controls in Washington making health decisions for you.
Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), who chairs the Committee, is one of many leaders with serious concerns about IPAB's unilateral authority. During yesterday's hearing, Ryan bombed away at Sebelius's claim that IPAB would "protect Medicare." There's a better way to solve Medicare's financial crisis, Ryan said, without rationing care. And major pharmaceutical companies, physicians' organizations, and hospitals agree. What should control health care isn't IPAB. It isn't even Congress. What should control health care is the relationship between doctors and patients. Injecting more government into the equation only punishes patients and squeezes out the cutting-edge science that could treat them. This is just one more reason to contact your congressmen and tell them to not rest until ObamaCare
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