I disagree with the premise that losing on the health care is a fight for his political life, because he has tried. But it may affect the political lives of those who went against it.
I have goverment sponsored medical insurance and on this last cycle my co-pay went up 25% and the deductible went up by $2,500, a solid 1/3%. For the last 2 years I've been fighting (and maybe winning) throat cancer. Then a couple months ago I had a severe lung infection. I haven't seen the final billing, well they are still treating it.
People need to realize that what is going on is not just to get the uninsured insured, but to help control costs.