Why did Clinton Health Security Act of 1993 failed despite the opportunity to reform?

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

6 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

01/12/2009

Category :

Political science

Sub category :

Political science

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Summary :

Introduction.
The Health Security Act (HSA) delivered by Clinton.
Why President Clinton's proposal was not legislated.
1. Rapidly rising costs which began to affect both public and private sectors.
2. Problems for the employers.
3. What placed health care reform on the political agenda.
Clinton and his administration.
1. Clinton and his administration.
2. Attracting the middle class.
3. The employer mandate.
4. Mobilizing interest groups.
5. The legislative strategy.
Why did HSA fail despite the favourable context.
1. US political institutions - structurally biased against comprehensive reform.
2. Absence of complete control on his agenda.
3. Preoccupation with other issues.
4. The loss of intrest from big employers.
5. Clinton's overestimation of the Democrats and their capacity to get unified around the bill.
The Republican mobilization effort.
Conclusion.
Bibliography.

Abstract

reforming the US health care system was one of the top priorities of the presidential battle in 1992 and William Jefferson clinton managed to appear as the most competent candidate to deliver a comprehensive plan to solve this problem. Since the late 1970's, the country was facing problems because of its health care system. Many Americans had no health insurance, and the first cause of individual bankruptcy was due to high medical expanses. American companies also faced competitive disadvantages because of high health care costs: from 1965 to 1989, business spending on health benefit climbed from 2.2 % to 8.3% of wages and salaries and from 8.4 % to 56% of pre-tax corporate profits. But those problems only came up at the national level after Wofford's 1991 victory in the senatorial election in Pennsylvania. Indeed, the latter used the health care issue to win those elections and as a result, paved the way for the national leader to utilise this topic in order to get elected. The health security act (HSA) delivered by clinton and his administration in 1993 pretended to be universal and of high quality. But, above all, it was a strategic tool which ultimate aim was to legitimate the Democrats within the US political sphere for decades to come.