Congress has the power of the purse. One member proposed giving a chunk of that power to an independent contractor. The West Virginia Gazette reported:
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has introduced legislation to move decisions about Medicare benefits away from Congress by making MedPAC (Medicare Payment Advisory Commission) into an independent executive agency.Rockefeller hopes to expand MedPAC's power to determine and implement policies about payments under the Medicare program.
"It's time to move MedPAC into the executive branch and away from the influence of special interests," said Rockefeller, who chairs the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care.
"Congress has proven itself to be inefficient and inconsistent in making decisions about provider reimbursement under Medicare.
"If we want serious improvements in our health-care delivery system, then we need to reform MedPAC's current authority to include fully establishing and implementing Medicare reimbursement rules. Congress should leave the reimbursement rules to independent health care experts."
A MedPAC federal health board would be like the Federal Reserve Bank. The reality is Congress is abdicating leadership, giving away power to a private organization. The people will lose representation on health care issues, plain and simple. America has a chicken shit Congress, one scrambling to contract out its dirty work.
The Obama team supports the move, even though it already has the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid, which promulgates rules and regulations. How will another unaccountable layer fix the problem? Our leadership nightmare continues.
(Senator Rockerfeller is able to stand in the above picture due to high tech, back bracing technology, developed especially for America's spineless Congress. The Senate allowed candidate Obama to keep his brace, although a new Presidential model with special lie technology is now under construction)
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