Partisan wrangling over health care could be as raucous in the new Congress as the sparring over Iraq, but in the longer run, there’s reason to hope for consensus.

The Bush administration and the new Democratic Congress almost certainly will be at odds over the Medicare prescription-drug program, stem-cell research and funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The administration will get nowhere – once again – if it proposes medical malpractice award ceilings to a Congress in which the trial lawyer lobby has gained influence. And Democrats detest health savings accounts, the GOP device to make individuals responsible for controlling healthcare costs.

But it’s possible – not likely, but possible – that an agreement could be reached to expand children’s health coverage.

It’s also possible that Congress could help accelerate impressive Bush administration initiatives on “value-driven” health care – based on computerizing all medical records and providing accurate data on treatment outcomes – and “pay-for-performance” medicine.

And because of leadership by presidential candidate and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), the plight of 47 million uninsured Americans finally may get the attention it deserves in 2008.

In April, Romney signed into law a bipartisan program that mandates that all Massachusetts residents have health insurance while providing subsidies for the low-income uninsured. The Democratic state Legislature also imposed a fee for employers who do not provide insurance for their workers.