I tend to agree in the belief that the American Health Care system is broken. One interesting point here though is that I also think that most Americans have a vague sense that Health Care should be socialized, since in principal I think that most would say that all people are entitled to high quality medical care. It's a sort of Christian/charitable thing, and for the most part illness is seen as a basically uncontrollable event, similar to a disaster. Additionally, people are not really comfortable with the idea of insurer's profiting greatly for what amounts to a clerical/administrative layer that stands between the ill and medical care. Add to this the sense that pharmaceutical companies are also profiting greatly and monetarily incentivized to produce treatments rather than cures is troubling. And bottom line is the act that health care costs have been increasing at a pace that is both unsustainable and shows no sign of slowing down leads to the conclusion that the system is breaking/is broken and will not correct itself without a lot of pain unless the power of government gets involved. (For the record, I don't agree with all these reasons, but I have listed them as a starting point).
The Health Care System is a huge part of the national economy, and it is well represented and lobbyists are certainly reviewing bills with keen interest. Senators and Congressmen it seems were elected to "lead, not read" for the most part. The problem is that there will be winners and losers in a dramatic overhaul of the existing health care system. And by the nature of things, the biggest losers are likely to be the ones that have the most. Bottom line is that you simply can't lose big if you don't have a lot to begin with. Note that this doesn't apply to the American People as a whole though, because as a whole there are really no lobbyists for the American People as such. Standing up to the existing power players is going to require an effort of political will and political savvy. I do not believe it is possible to come up with a "Win-Win" scenario, so the question becomes one of political will and declaring actual losers and making it stick.
It is important to note that the President does not create legislation, although the President can veto it. Obama hasn't led the charge against any elements of the current health care system, and doesn't appear to have the will to take the heat from the groups that will oppose him. He'd rather have the legislators do that, but I doubt that they want to bite the hands that feed them, so a stalemate ensues, which is something Democracy is very good at ensuring.
If Obama really wants to tackle big problems, he is going to have to change his style, and change it quickly. But even if he does, it's not going to be easy. The August "deadline" has been given up, and I simply don't believe that Obama is willing (or perhaps even able) to declare winners and losers in the upheaval that is required, and without that it is unlikely that any dramatic change will come about.