WASHINGTON — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Thursday that he disagreed with a major proposal President Obama advanced this week to help trim health care costs.
Obama wants to give a little-known panel, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, more power to come up with recommendations to control costs in the government’s Medicare program.
Congress then would be required to vote on those recommendations — up or down, without revision — much like the model used for the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission, or BRAC, for military installations.
Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, said there’s little support for the idea, which Obama floated Wednesday in a letter to two senators.
“It was OK for BRAC,” Hoyer said. “But for legislation that affects literally millions and millions of Americans — that’s an entirely different issue from a policy standpoint.”
“I don’t think there is great enthusiasm for a take-it-or-leave-it proposal coming out of some commission,” he added. Hoyer’s remarks came during a forum organized by The Christian Science Monitor.