Perhaps it's escaped your notice, but he has been confronting them -- they're currently fighting this bill and have been since the start.  Funny way to go about avoiding confrontation...

I don't know for sure. But if he is strongly consensus driven and he accepts the medical insurance industry as a legitimate player he may well have sought to balance their interests with those of the public.

Or... perhaps he simply recognizes they're currently pretty much the only player right now, and is seeking to balance the interests of the 300 or so million people they're currently covering with those of the 50 million or so they're not.  "Consensus" doesn't have to be the motive here.

And, yes, I remember the 'sharp' conversation -- it was in the context of a criticism.  It doesn't make them 'friends.'

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes