Those interested in hearing what President Barack Obama had to say about health care reform during his first State of the Union speech had to wait Wednesday night.

Health care reform took a backseat to more pressing topics. First, he spoke about the economy. The country has moved past the recession, the banks are now (for the most part) on solid ground and the United States is ready to grow. The president then talked about creating more jobs, innovation and education.

The 21.3% cut to your Medicare payments is but five weeks away, a fact that the AMA is keenly aware of. To spur Congress into action, top AMA officials mounted a media blitz last week, beginning with a barrage of press releases and climaxing with a high-tech press conference Jan. 21 at the National Press Club in Washington

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) predicts the fate of  health care reform hinges on Tuesday's special election in Massachusetts to fill the seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.  The polling blog Five Thirty Eight scores the race as a toss-up between Republican Scott Brown and Democrat Martha Coakley. Political strategists say the situation isn't as dire as Frank claims.

Keeping an eye on health reform, Democratic leaders are moving closer toward a final bill to put up for a vote in the House and Senate.

All's been quiet on the health reform front for a couple of weeks, ever since the Senate passed its version of a reform bill on Christmas Eve. As we said earlier, after both houses in Congress pass their versions of a bill, a conference committee is formed to merge both versions into a single piece of legislation acceptable to all. And by "all" I mean a majority in both houses.