They might make useful political allies occasionally but younger citizens and physicians have very different interests overall.

Chuck–I expect Medicare reform to come first–putting some of the pieces in place for national health reform by: raising payments to primary care docs and those who provide “medical homes” for patients suffering from chronic diseases while lowering payments to some specialists for some services (that are highly priced and not proven to be effective for many of the patients receiving these services);
setting up a compartive effectiveness institute and using head-to-head comparisons of drugs, devices and procedures to make coverage decisions; paying doctors more to co-ordinate care; tightening up hospital inspections to focus on hospital errors, patient safety, and ultimately, refusing to pay hospitals that do not meet high standards; refusing to pay for certain re-admissions. . .

(Under the new Medicare law, the Joint Commission will no longer have unique control over hospital inspection and certification. This should lead to much better inspections, focusing on the things that really matter, and, I would hope, some hospital closings.

Private insurers will follow Medicare’s coverage decisions and payment schedule (as they do now.)

As for voters focusing– seniors are very good at focusing on an issue that effects Medicare (or Social Security) and voting, in large numbers, to protect their interests. They have time; they are good at organizing; many are very articulate.

Do you remember the “Grey Panthers”? They were quite effective at targeting Congressmen who were not serving their interests and throwing them out of office. Seniors realize that Medicare co-pays and deductibles have been rising sharply–and it’s getting harder to find doctors who take Medicare.

Kevin is right: physicians should unite with patients–particularly seniors.