When you’ve lost Hollerin’ Howard Dean, it may be time to rethink some things.
In 2009, Sarah Palin coined the term “death panels” as a more accurate name for Obamacare’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB. Palin was widely ridiculed for her claim, but today, Howard Dean, of all people, is suggesting that she was on to something. After initially dismissing Palin’s credibility and assailing her for her remarks, the fist-pumping firebrand is coming out forcefully today against the IPAB:
Wow. Howard Dean comes out squarely against IPAB. His take? "Rate setting doesn't work" & IPAB "a rationing body"http://t.co/vjoyCRPPWU
— Ashish "Let data drive re-opening decisions" Jha (@ashishkjha) July 29, 2013
Remarkable piece from Howard Dean, esp. the latter paragraphs hammering #IPAB. Only phrase missing is "death panel." http://t.co/U3Sal6fD2i
— Brian Rye (@Brian_Rye) July 29, 2013
Dean makes it clear that, to him, the Affordable Care Act holds a great deal of promise. But he has no doubt that the IPAB is a disaster in the making:
One major problem is the so-called Independent Payment Advisory Board. The IPAB is essentially a health-care rationing body. By setting doctor reimbursement rates for Medicare and determining which procedures and drugs will be covered and at what price, the IPAB will be able to stop certain treatments its members do not favor by simply setting rates to levels where no doctor or hospital will perform them.
…
The IPAB will cause frustration to providers and patients alike, and it will fail to control costs. When, and if, the atmosphere on Capitol Hill improves and leadership becomes interested again in addressing real problems instead of posturing, getting rid of the IPAB is something Democrats and Republicans ought to agree on.
Ouch.
https://twitter.com/TomMcCammon/status/361819458702020609
So, when @GovHowardDean starts killing #ObamaCare, it's fairly meaningful, right? http://t.co/yelpFgQqSP #nhpolitics #WrongForNH
— Greg Moore (@GregMooreNH) July 29, 2013
Will Dean’s views generate the same uproar from the Left that Palin’s did?
https://twitter.com/AlexAmateis/status/361877243779231744
So do we. In the meantime, here’s a solution that will assuage all our concerns:
https://twitter.com/amandacarpenter/status/361844399786819584
Amen.
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