A Lost Cause

by Laham, Nicholas

• ISBN13: 9780275956110
• ISBN10: 0275956113
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-09-01
• Publisher: Praeger Pub Text

Summary

Bill Clinton's 1993-94 health care reform initiative was one of the most active and sustained presidential campaigns ever undertaken in support of a single social issue, and certainly the boldest attempt to establish national health insurance in the United States. An analysis of the Clinton campaign, therefore, reveals much about the politics of divided government in the late 20th century, the apparent end of the New Deal-Great Society approach to governance and the enduring democratic coalition which supported it, and, of course, the high stakes politics of health care reform. This study attempts to advance our understanding of why national health insurance has proven to be such a potent idea while seemingly impossible to accomplish. The work focuses on the political factors which derailed the Clintons' health care reform initiative, providing a case study of a most significant modern-day political and policy battle.

Table of Contents

Tables	ix
Preface	xi
The Political Obstacles to Health Care Reform	1	(14)
Clinton's National Health Insurance Plan: Addressing the Health Care Crisis	15	(26)
The Financial Relationship Between Congress and the Health Care Industry	41	(24)
The Health Care Industry Opposes Clinton's National Health Insurance Plan	65	(16)
The Republican Party Launches Its Campaign to Defeat Clinton's National Health Insurance Plan	81	(44)
Business Opposes Clinton's National Health Insurance Plan	125	(16)
The Division Within the Democratic Party Over National Health Insurance	141	(24)
The Collapse of Clinton's Health Care Reform Initiative	165	(38)
Why Did Clinton's Health Care Reform Initiative Fail?	203	(18)
Notes	221	(22)
Select Bibliography	243	(2)
Index	245