President Barack Obama and key congressional Democrats want a better deal on prescription drugs sold to seniors. But if they get it, seniors will pay billions of dollars more for their medicines.

With Congress having sent a bill to the president, a lot of people inside and outside Washington will breathe a huge sigh of relief that the trauma is over. Now get ready for the next set of "my way or the highway" showdowns.

Despite all the hype, the health-insurance industry's profit margins remain modest.

Politicians have frequently directed harsh rhetoric toward particular corporate taxpayers that earn high profits. At times, this rhetoric has been accompanied by policy proposals that single out a narrow set of profitable taxpayers for disparate treatment. Perhaps the most notable example is the war against Big Oil.

The reality of the health care bill will be shaped by the implementation of the program, and that in turn will be shaped by the people in charge of implementation.

There may be some efforts to slow down IPAB implementation by refusing to feed it with funding. So the likelihood is that this may die a slow, quiet death over several years, as opposed to the great horrors that people are imagining.

If I had my druthers, I would cut to the chase and go for the Healthy Americans Act, the brainchild of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that has substantial bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

The primary race between Connecticut's Lieberman and Lamont has sent a powerful message to Democrats nationwide.