The portion of President Obama's fiscal 2014 budget request that could most affect providers is the increased authority for the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), IMNG Medical News reported. Under Obama's proposed budget, IPAB would make recommendations on how to contain Medicare spending if the projected Medicare per capita growth rate exceeded the gross domestic product (GDP) plus 0.05 percent. That would give IPAB an earlier trigger-point than the current target growth rate of GDP plus 1 percent. Still, the fate of the controversial cost-control board remains uncertain, with Senate Republicans in February reintroducing a bill to repeal IPAB, a key provision of healthcare reform. Article