As the Senate's health care reform bill gains critical support for passage this week, it's only now becoming clear how many goodies and payoffs have been inserted into the legislation to sway hesitant lawmakers or to reward politicians with seniority.

One of the last Senate holdouts, Ben Nelson, D-Neb., did force tighter restrictions over abortion. But he also negotiated a provision for permanent federal aid for his state's expanded Medicaid program. This benefit, given to Nebraska only, is expected to be worth up to $100 million over 10 years.

Other states get similar aid, but for only three years. Governors in other states should be irate.

An early wavering supporter of Democratic health care reform, Louisiana's Sen. Mary Landrieu, won between $100 million and $300 million in additional federal support for her state's Medicaid program.

The small print in the Senate's health care bill finds Vermont and Massachusetts getting $1.2 billion in additional Medicaid funding.

Certain Western states, where half of the counties are sparsely populated and considered "frontier counties," won a provision for increased Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals. Too bad for other states with similar rural populations.

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., reportedly inserted language to provide $100 million for construction of a university hospital in his state. Dodd, who is facing a tough re-election campaign, included his home-state pork in the 383 pages of changes added recently as Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., bargained to get 60 votes to pass the legislation over Republican objections.

Among other details to emerge is the fact that three states — Florida, New York and Pennsylvania — get unusual protection for their Medicare Advantage programs. These three states, where five of the six senators are Democrats, will not be subject to Medicare cuts prescribed for all other states in the reform bill.

Again, governors in other states probably won't see that as fair.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., a key player in drafting health care reform legislation, managed to insert expanded Medicare coverage for a particular group of people — former vermiculite miners in Libby, Mont. — suffering from asbestos exposure.

And the list of special payoffs and favors goes on and on, mostly to holdout Democrats and those with positions of power.

Nobody in Washington seems to care about the cost of the giveaways, because it's other people's money that will pay for everything.

Yet, David Axelrod, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, says, "We're on the doorstep of doing something really historic that will help the American people."

Granted, more people will be able to have health insurance, but the costs will be extraordinary. The real winners are found in the medical-industrial complex, meaning health insurance companies, drug makers, hospitals, device makers and doctors.

The White House made secret deals with health insurers, drug makers, hospitals and doctors to buy their support for health care reform. And the lack of negative ads, similar to the "Harry and Louise" television ads that contributed to the defeat of health care reform pushed during the Clinton administration, proves that corporate interests have been bought off.

The silence of the medical establishment shows that corporate interests have been protected and that will help keep health care in America nearly twice as expensive, on a per-capita basis, as health care in other advanced countries.

The most recent round of vote-buying produced special benefits for Nelson, Dodd, Baucus and others. There might well be more goodies tucked into the 2,500 pages of the Senate's health care reform legislation, but the public has not yet had a chance to understand everything that's included in the bill — and won't until after the bill is passed.

Health care reform was supposed to be about health care — expanding insurance coverage, improving care and, perhaps most importantly, reducing costs. The current version mostly expands coverage, providing for-profit health insurance companies with 25 million new customers forced to buy their product, and without market competition to keep prices down.

No public option, no competition across state lines: It's a good deal for insurance companies. No tort reform means that lawyers also are winners.

At this point, it's clear the current reform effort is about money, not health care. The White House made a political calculation and sold out to corporate interests to get something called health care reform passed. Corporate interests, particularly health insurance companies, drug makers and others, have largely protected their profits.

Republicans look like hypocrites complaining about majority Demo-crats abusing their power and buying votes — they've done the same sort of things in the past. But Democrats and Obama don't look any better, demonstrating business as usual after promising change.