Even as lawmakers struggle to define what health care reform would look like in America, powerful lobbies including drug companies, health insurance providers, hospitals and the American Medical Association say reform is needed soon.
The economic playing field has shifted beneath the feet of the health care industry, as employer-sponsored coverage shrinks, individual policies become more expensive and private companies have increasing roles in public plans like Medicare.
President Obama said his opponents are trying to prevent health care reform "as a way to inflict political damage on my administration. I'll leave it to them to explain that to the American people," he said.
