Four days before the Senate jettisoned the idea of expanding Medicare to younger Americans, a dozen Senate Democrats sent a letter warning that the proposal would make it harder for elderly patients in parts of the country to find care. The letter, sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-NV), attests to the effectiveness of a campaign by influential hospital and physician lobbyists to defeat the idea, the Washington Post reports. It also underscores the difficulty of forging policy and political deals in the environment in which Congress is trying to reshape the nation's healthcare system, reports the Post.
