Under the current version of the bill, the advisory board would recommend Medicare levels and those recommendations would go into effect automatically unless Congress voted to block them.
The amendment would further extend the board’s powers by:
* removing exemptions from board actions for hospitals and hospices;
* ensuring the board’s authority over payment matters;
* extending the board’s powers beyond 2019 even if healthcare inflation is kept in check;
* moving up the 1.5 percent savings target the board has to meet to from 2018 to 2015;
* moving up the yearly implementation date for changes from August 15 to June 15;
* directing the board to implement programmatic changes and not simply cut costs; and
* directing the board to recommend cost cuts in the private sector.
Sen. Rockefeller explained the amendment thusly: “Medicare will be insolvent in 2017 if nothing is done to improve Medicare. Payment reforms are the cornerstone for driving quality improvement and improving the efficiency of our health care system. We need an objective entity in place that can consistently develop and implement Medicare reimbursement policies.”
In addition to Sen. Rockefeller, the sponsors are Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
Read Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s release on the Independent Medicare Advisory Board (doc).
