Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 849 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2017
(House Rules)
(Rep. Roe, R-TN, and 270 cosponsors)
The Administration supports H.R. 849, the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2017, and applauds the House of Representatives for its efforts to protect Medicare beneficiaries and the American public at large from the harmful effects of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).
While Medicare is on an unsustainable fiscal trajectory and needs reform, the IPAB, as enacted in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), represents government overreach that circumvents the normal legislative process. As envisioned, the IPAB's fast-track procedures would allow a politically unaccountable board to undertake major changes to the Medicare program without appropriate control by the Executive, thereby undercutting our system of constitutional self-government.
The President's Fiscal Year 2018 budget eliminated the IPAB, and we encourage the Congress to follow suit and swiftly pass H.R. 849. The Administration also encourages the Congress to continue working to repeal and replace other harmful components of the PPACA.
If H.R. 849 were presented to the President in its current form, his advisors would recommend that he sign the bill into law.
Donald J. Trump (1st Term), Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 849 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2017 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/348650