Medicare pay board is losing vital support

Politico reports:

One of the key provisions in President Barack Obama’s health care reform law — his preferred method for getting Medicare costs under control — is facing a groundswell of opposition from unexpected corners.

Several House Democrats have signed on to support a bill to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a panel created by the law that is supposed to help control rising costs in Medicare. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, a prominent supporter of the law, is now actively lobbying for its repeal, too.

The opposition puts some Democrats and a prominent advocacy group on the same side as House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) standing against Obama. Ryan has called IPAB a rationing board. The president, for his part, answered Ryan’s budget by proposing an even stronger version of the board than the health reform law created.

Great moments in socialized medicine.