From Sam Baker:
House Republicans signaled Thursday they will not follow rules in President Obama’s healthcare law that were designed to speed Medicare cuts through Congress.
The House is set to vote Thursday afternoon on rules for the 113th Congress. The rules package says the House won’t comply with fast-track procedures for the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) — a controversial cost-cutting board Republicans have long resisted.
The rules package signals that Republicans might not bring up Medicare cuts recommended by the IPAB — blocking part of a politically controversial law, and resisting Medicare spending cuts.
Remember how the ACA works. If Medicare spending rises too quickly, the IPAB makes recommendations on how to cut spending. If Congress doesn’t agree to those recommendations, they have to vote to override them, and propose cuts of their own. If they don’t, the spending cuts go into effect.
The Republicans are now saying that they will not abide by those procedures. They will refuse to enact the cuts the IPAB makes. I don’t know if that’s legal or not; someone with more legal knowledge will have to tell me.
But I hope you will all remember this the next time they demand that someone cut Medicare spending. Someone is trying to.
