"Bill Clinton Sees Hope for Health Care Changes, This Time"

[Clio the Leo]

Bill Clinton Sees Hope for Health Care Changes, This Time
By PETER BAKER
Published: June 11, 2009

WASHINGTON — As President Obama’s drive to remake the nation’s health care system shifts into high gear this summer, one thing he wants to do is avoid making the mistakes President Bill Clinton made. And one person who thinks he will be able is Mr. Clinton himself.

As he watches the new Democratic president take on the issue that stymied him 16 years ago, Mr. Clinton has concluded that Mr. Obama has a better chance than he did, both because of the way the new proposals are structured and because of a national mood that is more supportive of major action.

“He’s got a better Congress, a more receptive climate,” Mr. Clinton said in a recent interview. “He also has, frankly, a better — at least more politically saleable — set of proposals.”

Mr. Clinton has had plenty of time, of course, to think about what went wrong when he and Hillary Rodham Clinton tried to enact universal coverage in 1993. With a task force that operated largely in secret, the first lady drew up a detailed and complicated plan that met with fierce opposition by the health care industry and Republicans before it ultimately sank of its own weight in a Democratic Congress.

Mr. Obama is approaching the issue in a different way. Rather than developing his own detailed proposal, he is setting out broad principles and letting lawmakers draft the specifics of a plan that they believe can pass. And to achieve universal coverage, instead of Mr. Clinton’s plan to require employers to provide it, Mr. Obama envisions creating a government-run health plan that would compete with private insurers.

(more)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/us/politics/12baker.html

[WI_DEM]

1. We will see. I hope so, but we will see.

[Beacool]

2. I can almost predict what we will end up with.

A waterdown bill that will not please everyone, but will be considered to be "better than nothing".

Too many hands in the batter and all with their own agenda.

:-(

[avaistheone1]

3. Everyone's hands in the batter except the people.

We will not forget that single-payer never had a chance in this recipe that has been cooked up for us despite the fact it ia the plan favored by most Americans.

[Beacool]

5. People love to criticize Hillary's handling of the issue.

But she kept the drafting of the bill private precisely to avoid all these people with their own self interests spoiling the stew. Of course the Congress critters and their overinflated egos didn't fancy her leaving them out of the mix.

Her plan may not have been perfect, but I bet my bottom dollar that it was better than whatever we end up with after everybody cannibalizes it.

[karynnj]

11. There has to be something wrong when Bill Bradley was one of those who opposed it

Per HRC's autobiography, not a single person on the Finance Committee was for it. Bradley tried to create an alternative, but the Clintons rejected his effort out of hand.

HRC and Magaziner met with the same special interests that you condemn. Her bill was created with Congress locked out, not the special interests and for a time, she refused to divulge who the task force met with.

The fact is that any plan to become legislation has to go through Congress - her plan never did, because Bill Clinton refused to demand that it be done. It never came to a vote in Congress - in fact, I don't think it was ever converted to legislative language.

[DJ13]

4. Sure he's happy, Obama essentially wants the same as Hillary proposed

Of course, there are millions of Obama supporters who didnt like Hillary's health care proposals (which is why she lost), but thats unimportant I guess.

[Beacool]

6. THAT's why she lost?

It's news to many of us........

:eyes:

[DJ13]

7. Between the two, Obama's original (vague) heath care propsals were better

At least to those who were paying attention.

[Beacool]

8. His proposal was better?

It must have been news to the AMA and the Nurse's Association, both of which endorsed Hillary.

:eyes:

[DJ13]

9. It must have been news to the AMA .....

The same AMA that came out just today AGAINST a public option?

I rest my case.

[karynnj]

10. Bill Clinton had a similar Congress to Obama's - this is just Clinton blaming others

Obama will have 60 Democrats, once Franken is seated. But Clinton started with 57 and that didn't include Jeffords and Spector, who are the same people they were then. It also included other Republican moderates like Lincoln Chaffey. Not to mention others like Kassebaum, who helped Clinton on another health care issue. (There are few moderate Republicans now and more centrist Democrats.)

He also had George Mitchell, who was a better majority leader than Harry Reid.

The fact is that the HRC package was never even taken to the floor - and had NO support from a single Democrat on the Finance committee - even though people like Bill Bradley were there. The Clintons refused to work with people like Bradley, which was one reason he left the Senate.

Clinton is correct that Obama has a better "climate" for this. More people do not have healthcare insurance or fear losing it.