Jim Martin: “These principled leaders stand as a firewall against Obama’s Medicare slashing panel so that it may take its rightful place in history alongside the Edsel and Dodo bird.”

(Alexandria, Virginia) — The 60 Plus Association, the nation’s largest conservative seniors organization and acknowledged alternative to the liberal AARP today offered praise and thanks to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for informing President Obama via letter that they ‘respectfully decline’  to recommend names to serve on the Individual Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).  Created as part of Obamacare, IPAB is scheduled to appoint 15 bureaucrats charged with cutting reimbursement rates and eliminating procedures covered by Medicare to help fund Obama’s health care law.

The letter stated the two leaders opposed Obamacare “because we knew it would increase health costs, impose costly burdens on job creation and raid Medicare to pay for a massive new entitlement,” and for that reason they declined to participate in empowering IPAB.  This brought praise from 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, leader of the 7.2 million strong seniors’ organization.

“Speaker Boehner and Leader McConnell stand on principle in refusing to be complicit in the wholesale dismantling of Medicare in order to pay for President Obama’s massive new healthcare law.  We and tens of millions of Americans have supported them in their past efforts to repeal IPAB, because if it were ever to become reality, it would take power away from the people and their elected representatives and put Medicare’s fate into the hands of an unelected, unaccountable collection of backroom bureaucrats who will gash Medicare to the bone.

“I am personally proud to see that some in Washington can still disagree respectfully, even with their political opponents who consistently fail to show respect in return.  Obama, the Democrats in Congress and the AARP shoved Obamacare down the throats of the American people after serving it up on a silver platter of falsehoods and phony promises, claiming it would make healthcare better and protect seniors.  Well now the Obamacare train wreck is in full swing, and as long as IPAB is on the books, it is seniors who are still stuck on the tracks.

“America’s elderly as well as future generations will forever remember the courage and consistency of these two principled leaders who have stood strong to protect seniors and their families from total Medicare devastation.  We owe them a debt of gratitude, and a promise that we will continue to stand by their side until IPAB and Obamacare are no more.”

-30-