KQED here in San Francisco had a really excellent program on this morning featuring panelists from AARP, the health insurers, Senior Action Network (a group opposing the bill), and others. I really enjoyed the program, and they did a good job of presenting all sides:
You can listen here (scroll down a bit to find the show):
http://www.kqed.org/programs/program...sp?progID=RD19
The impression I get is that this bill is a little of everything. A little bit of help for seniors, a little bit of money for insurers, a little bit of money for pharmaceutical companies, and a little bit of added pork barrel politics and bureaucracy. It doesn't sound like anyone likes the bill, but it's the only one they could get passed.