In Reversal, Campaign Says Ted Cruz Does Have Health Insurance

Greenbeard · Jan 27, 2016

ashurbanipal said:
I'm curious whether the IPAB tells private insurance companies which treatments to cover.

Six years in, I feel like many folks haven't realized IPAB has never existed. Health care cost growth since the passage of the ACA has simply been too low for it to have a mandate.

sangha · Jan 29, 2016

Greenbeard said:
Six years in, I feel like many folks haven't realized IPAB has never existed. Health care cost growth since the passage of the ACA has simply been too low for it to have a mandate.

Mandate?

It's so low the IPAB doesn't even have any members

Greenbeard · Jan 30, 2016

sangha said:
Mandate?

It's so low the IPAB doesn't even have any members

Indeed. But even if the IPAB had members, it still only gets to make recommendations if per capita Medicare spending growth exceeds the target set in the ACA. The last IPAB determination (from July), like the others before it, said there's no need for IPAB at present.

The projected 5-year average growth in Medicare per capita spending is 1.70 percent, and the 5-year average growth target is 2.48 percent. Because the projected 5-year Medicare per capita growth rate does not exceed the Medicare per capita target growth rate, there is no applicable savings target for implementation year 2017 (determination year 2015).

Medicare spending is growing very slowly.

Indeed, Medicare spending in 2015 was $100 billion less than projected back in January 2010 based on pre-ACA trends.

sangha · Jan 30, 2016

Greenbeard said:
Indeed. But even if the IPAB had members, it still only gets to make recommendations if per capita Medicare spending growth exceeds the target set in the ACA. The last IPAB determination (from July), like the others before it, said there's no need for IPAB at present.

Medicare spending is growing very slowly.

Indeed, Medicare spending in 2015 was $100 billion less than projected back in January 2010 based on pre-ACA trends.

The IPAB is like the Yeti - it exists only on paper and in stories repeated by fearful people.