GOP targets new cost-cut board in Obama health law

As President Obama moves with surprising forcefulness to implement elements of his second-term agenda — including gun control, immigration, and taxes — it's worth remembering just how scattered and lost his administration appeared to be for long stretches of his first term.

This guest column by Secretary Locke was published in the Seattle Times on Friday.**********WHEN Republicans vote next week to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they are voting to repeal a new level of control that American families have over their health-care decisions. They are also voting to make American businesses less competitive in the global economy. Because just 10 months after its passage, the act has brought badly needed change to the American health-care system. The law: • Prevents children with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage; • Eliminates lifetime caps on the dollar amount insurance companies will spend on enrollees' benefits, like cancer treatment; • Allows children to stay on their parents' insurance plans until they are 26; • Gives tax credits to small businesses to help them afford health care for their employees; and • Takes meaningful steps to lower costs and improve the quality of health care for all Americans But from my perspective as U.S. commerce secretary, one of the most important benefits of the law is that it will make American businesses more competitive by reining in rapidly increasing health-care costs. As President Obama has noted: "We are in a fierce competition among nations for the jobs and industries of the future." The Affordable Care Act will allow American businesses, large and small, to improve their performance against foreign competitors, most of whom have significantly lower health-care costs. The cost savings are real, and they will grow over time.

One of the most politically intense fights over the Affordable Care Act was over the creation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, infamously dubbed a "death panel" by Republicans during the 2010 elections. 

Dave Weigel has a good report on the repeal health reform movement:

House Republicans are gearing up on Thursday to hold at least their 37th vote on repealing at least part the Affordable Care Act, which will soon be implemented across the country.