House votes to repeal ObamaCare's rationing panel; Roskam video on IPAB

Tucked into the ObamaCare bill, you know, the one that then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, "We have to pass it so you can find out what's in it," was the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which if the president's takeover of health care survives, will consist of 15 unelected bureaucrats in charge of rationing treatment.

Earlier today the House of Representatives, along party lines, voted to repeal that provision of ObamaCare--the tally was 223-181. But the fight is only beginning--the bill faces an uncertain future in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

As for the rationing, the IPAB has been assigned the task of cutting Medicare when spending exceeds projections. That power could be devastatingly cruel: Washington is well-known for underestimating the real cost of just about any program.

Here's what Donald J. Palmisano, the former president of the American Medical Association and who is now a spokesperson for the Coalition to Protect Patients' Rights wrote yesterday about the IPAB for the Daily Caller:

In short, seniors health is too important to play politics with, even when the political goals are commendable. Speaker John Boehner and Majority Whip Eric Cantor must do all in their power to remove IPAB from the books as soon as possible and still pursue larger efforts to repeal the whole Affordable Care Act because of its pernicious effects on the practice of medicine.

Boehner and Cantor did their part, ordinary Americans now need to convince enough Democrats in the Senate to pass the IPAB repeal so it goes to President Obama's desk.

Illinois' top Republican in the House, Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam, slammed the IPAB on the floor of the lower chamber this morning.

"What we've got to do is make sure we put remedies in place that empower seniors, that create patient-centered healthcare and don't deny care and put more out of pocket costs on the backs of seniors," the Wheaton Republican said. "We can't repeal this thing fast enough."

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