What Was The Clinton Health Plan Proposal About, and Why Did It Fail?

Question: What Was The Clinton Health Plan Proposal About, and Why Did It Fail?

Answer:

In 1993, President Clinton proposed a health plan which would provide universal health coverage to all Americans. This 1,342 page proposal was introduced into Congress that fall, and was heavily debated before it finally fizzled out. Public support for the plan also dwindled from 71% to 43% during the 12-month period after it was introduced. (See R.J. Blendon et. al. What Happened to Americans' Support For the Clinton Health Plan? Health Affairs 14(2), Summer 1995.)

Health care reformers today look back to the Clinton Proposal as an example of what not to do when attempting to improve our nation's health care system. So what was it all about, and why did it fail?

Key Features of the Clinton Health Proposal

The Clinton Proposal was developed by a special Task Force led by then-First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. It contained the following key features:

• National Health Board - The proposed legislation would create a National Health Board which would be in charge of regulating all health care in the country. This would place an extremely large percentage of our nation's economy under the control of the federal government - a move which alarmed many conservatives.
• Standardized Benefits - Each plan must cover all of the benefits specified in the proposal, including major medical, doctor visits, drug & alcohol abuse counseling, etc. Patients must pay out of pocket for any additional benefits.
• Mandatory Employer Sponsored Health Coverage - All employers would be required to provide health coverage AND would have to subsidize at least 80% of the cost. Employees would be responsible for the remainder, in the hopes that they would make cost-conscious choices because they were responsible for at least part of the cost of care. However, this provision did not appeal to those who supported a fully nationalized health care plan with little or no added costs passed on to the consumer.

Why Did the Proposal Fail?

Opponents to the Clinton Proposal launched an extremely popular advertising campaign featuring "Harry and Louise", an ordinary average couple with some very serious concerns about the Proposal. The ads urged viewers to contact their representatives in Congress to oppose the legislation. Some people believe that "Harry and Louise" played a big role in killing the Clinton Proposal.

But the Proposal may have failed even without this very effective public relations campaign opposing it. The health care reform debate was (and still is) extremely polarized, with some experts convinced that government intervention is required, and others adamant that market-based reform is the way to go. In trying to address the needs of both sides of this debate, the Clinton proposal resulted in a plan that appealed to neither.