So the NYT reports today that the Medicare bill compromise discussions between the teams from the house and the senate are being held up by a dispute on payments to rural hospitals.  A dispute between different republicans! (Bill Thomas in the House and Chuck Grassley in the Senate). This bill is supposed to be about getting prescription drugs to seniors, but instead is getting bogged down in electoral politics. So don’t expect any news any time soon, because the Democrats haven’t even put their oar in yet concerning the ‘ "privatization" of Medicare’ part of the House bill. And they certainly don’t want the Republicans to be able to run on "we gave seniors drug coverage" for 2004.