WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) Wednesday questioned the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on President Obama’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget.

In light of Secretary Burwell’s refusal to answer questions about the future of Obamacare in the shadow of the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the latest challenge to the law, King v Burwell, on March 4, 2015, Senator Roberts focused his questions on the potential for rationing in the President’s healthcare law.

View the Senator’s exchange with the HHS Secretary here

Senator Roberts specifically noted the contradiction in Secretary Burwell’s testimony on the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) in her confirmation hearing and the request made to increase IPAB’s targeted savings for Medicare in the President’s FY 2016 Budget.

Created in Obamacare, IPAB is responsible for cost cutting decisions in Medicare and Medicaid should the rate of Medicare spending growth reach a certain target. Roberts remains concerned IPAB will amount to rationing of care for our seniors by unelected bureaucrats.

“During your confirmation hearing we talked a lot about the Affordable Care Act’s Independent Payment Advisory Board – the IPAB,” Senator Roberts said. “You said, and I’ll paraphrase here, that you were hopeful that IPAB never needs to be used…You were hopeful that we can make sure that IPAB never gets triggered, and we all agreed.”

“But, here we are again with a budget request where you’re asking to expand this authority to find savings. How can you explain to me how you went from hoping it never had to be used to now doubling down on IPAB and expanding the savings it must find?” Roberts asked.

During the debate on Obamacare, Senator Roberts offered amendments to prohibit the use of comparative effectiveness research and to eliminate IPAB. He voted against Obamacare in both Committees and on the Senate floor.

Senator Roberts is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance and is a member of its Subcommittee on Health Care. He is a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and is co-chairman of the Senate Rural Health Caucus.