Kendall Antekeier
Prior to becoming a member of the Heartland staff, Kendall graduated from Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana in 2011. There she earned a dual-degree in political science and communication studies, as well as completed scholarly research on the film Frost/Nixon, evaluating its implications regarding the relationship between journalists and politicians. As a student, Kendall worked with the Saint Joseph County Republican Party in South Bend, Indiana, aiding the Party's communication efforts by reporting on both local and national issues and facilitating contact with County candidates. She also held a communication internship position at WZZM 13 News in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Latest posts by Kendall Antekeier (see all)
- A Wealth Redistribution Halloween - October 31, 2012
- Hobby Lobby Files Suit Over HHS Contraceptive Mandate - September 13, 2012
- A Political Push to Stop the Implementation of Health Insurance Exchanges - July 3, 2012
Today the House Energy & Commerce subcommittee on health held four
panels on the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).
Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius acted as an ally to the left, speaking in support of the initiative.
However, Heartland’s Senior Fellow in health care, Avik Roy, was the first witness to follow Sebelius and testify against IPAB. To summarize, his testimony argued four distinct points:
1. Why Medicare is so expensive? Seniors have no incentive to shop for value.
2. We have three choices: underpaying providers, rationing care, or reforming cost-sharing. Reforming cost-sharing is the best way to curb spending growth while preserving high-quality care.
3. IPAB focuses on reducing provider payments, which is unlikely to work. Rather, it will reduce seniors’ access to doctors and health care services, worsening the quality of their care.
4. IPAB could be improved with a different mandate, but a better approach would be to move to a premium support model with stronger cost-sharing – having patient-centered health care.
Rep. Paul Ryan also spoke out feverishly against Sebeilus’ arguments, shedding light on the main difference in the IPAB debate – a majority of the left is arguing for a group of unelected officials to have free-reign authority over health care decisions, where the right maintains that the power should reside with patients.
You can view Rep. Ryan’s argument below & read more about Roy’s testimony here.
