(Sen) Clinton Outlines Legislative Priorities (Health Care Coming Back)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/11/13/D8LCB6GO0.html

Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday outlined an ambitious agenda of legislative priorities while continuing to deflect questions about her presumed presidential ambitions.

"I will look at the possibilities, but I ... haven't really had the time to talk to people about it," Clinton told a breakfast gathering hosted by the Association for a Better New York. "It's been a busy election season that worked out well, so I will think about it. I'm open to thoughts."

<snip>

In her remarks, Clinton outlined a range of challenges she said Democrats would tackle in the coming months, such as trimming the federal deficit, reducing dependence on foreign oil, and improving the image of the United States abroad.

She also said Democrats would focus on improving the quality and affordability of health care _ a touchy matter for the former first lady, who in 1993 led her husband's calamitous attempt to overhaul the nation's health care system. The failure of that effort helped Republicans win control of both the Senate and House the following year.

"Health care is coming back," Clinton warned, adding, "It may be a bad dream for some."

[Missy M]

1. Thank you Senator Clinton...

it's about time the health care issue is coming back. It is a serious problem that has to be addressed with the cost being number one and making sure every American has adequate health care.

[CountAllVotes]

2. Good for you Senator Clinton!

The health care issue in this country is a MAJOR issue and it effects everyone! Thank you for bringing this up right away because this needs to be dealt with ASAP.

People in America are dying because they do not have health insurance or health care available to them.

:dem: :kick:

[NOLADEM]

3. Glad she is gonna try...Hope she creates a reason for me to vote for her

I hope she has sucess with the healthcare issues. She sure is commmitted. Her first stab at this began many of her personal PR problems. Politically very brave to go near it 20 months before a Presidential election she surely will be participating in.

Waiting to see. C'mon Hillary. Don't be a DLC or AIPAC tool.

[William769]

4. Just one of the reasons I love this lady.

I'm glad I don't tow the line here as so many on DU would like me to. She's a smart lady. You go girl!

[merwin]

12. Toe the line, not tow the line...

Just a friendly reminder. pet peeve of mine :)
http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/toetheline.html

[munkie]

5. This is great!

Give this a good kick!

[mainer]

6. Hillary messed up the first time -- I hope she's learned since

It wasn't just a PR problem she had with the first health care study group she put together -- it was a far more basic problem. She spent all that effort trying to make deals with insurance companies ... and EXCLUDED health care providers. Why did she think the MIDDLEMEN were the only ones worth talking to? It's like trying to come up with a program to feed people and only talking to supermarket executives, while giving farmers -- the people who actually provide the product -- the cold shoulder.

[surfermaw]

8. Hillary didn't mess up

If you ask people to describe the health care package at the time the lady was trying, they would immediatly discribe Bill Clintons package, however Clinton couldn't get the message out. Big business stoped that program quickly.

[Princess Turandot]

14. Yes..

The primary premise of her plan (I confess I'm going on memory here) was the creation of regional 'buying groups' so that people who did not have access to groups plans through jobs or self-employment could benefit from somewhat discounted insurance premiums. There was some reference to premium assistance for the working poor. I worked at an accounting/consulting firm at the time, and I still recall getting a double-sided diagram covered with multiple interlocking venn diagrams, arrows, boxes et al; the whole thing was highly convoluted.

[nealmhughes]

7. Please don't lose interest or rollover this time, please!

[Hieronymus]

9. Hillary Clinton's plan for healthcare was not ..

a single payer plan. We need a single payer plan.:eyes:

[RogueBandit]

10. Screwed Oregon the last time...

Oregon was just about ready to pass some real universal health care. In fact, it was so close that it drew national, even international, attention. So what happened? Hillary and team decided it was time to make it national and that took all the money and expertise away from Oregon just when Oregon was about to make it happen. And that, of course, destroyed Oregon's campaign.

There are two methods of making real universal coverage happen in the US. One is to force the issue nation-wide like Hillary tried and the other is to do it state by state until enough states have done it that it becomes a national priority (like what happened in Canada). My money is on the state-by-state approach.

I'm afraid she'll screw it up. But that may just be me.

OregonJohn

[mcking]

17. ERISA is what really screwed the Oregon Health Plan

RogueBandit is correct, but the "full" OHP would have gone through if the play or pay provisions had gone into effect. Congress never passed a law exempting Oregon from certain ERISA requirements, which meant any "self-insured" employer would not have had to conform to the OHP law. Medicaid ended up covering tens of thousands of working people who should have (IMO) been covered by their employers. There simply was not enough money in the budget to cover those extra people.

By the way, the law could have gone into effect without the ERISA exemption if we had had two Democratic-controlled houses in the state legislature during the early to mid-90s. Thanks to pressure from Oregon business interests, the ERISA exemption requirement was tacked onto the original OHP legislation two years later.

My personal bias is toward a single-payer system, NOT the Clinton proposal, as I believe it is more efficient. However, it threatens insurance companies and will be very difficult to get through state legislatures, much less Congress.

[sandnsea]

21. Fully fund FHIAP

This is the best way I see to get all Oregonians covered in the quickest way possible. There still needs to be some kind of cost control mechanism, my recent doctor visit was $102 and it was around $60-80 just a couple years ago. Once everybody is covered, then the economic logic of participating in the state program kicks in, and we intuitively move to single payer.

http://www.oregon.gov/OPHP/FHIAP/

[Robbien]

11. Not buying it. This is just an issue to base a campaign on for Clinton

A sure bet campaign issue. Campaign on healthcare, but never do anything about it.

Kinda like Republicans running on far right conservative issues. Never really do anything about them, but they sure are a sure bet campaign issue.

[merwin]

13. Because Hillary has NEVER been for health care until now!

:sarcasm:

And Dems are for congressional reform only because of the election, right? Come on, good healthcare for all is something that Hillary has ALWAYS been pushing for.

[Robbien]

16. True, and she will go to her deathbed pushing for healthcare

Pushing for healthcare in political campaigns is Clinton's signature trait.

But actually changing healthcare is not something for which she is known.

[merwin]

20. How do you expect the party who's been out of control for 12 years to

do ANYTHING about health care? So her first attempt while we had control failed. If you pay attention, she pushes it every chance she gets. Now we'll have a chance again.

[Zhade]

19. Not for truly effective universal health care, you're right, she hasn't.

NT!

[usregimechange]

15. Hillary has become use to lying for political gain.

[Infinite Hope]

18. How did that lead to the 1994 control?

I was 10 at the time of her 1993 efforts, so someone please shed light on that for me as I've never been able to pinpoint the connection (if there truly is one). I've always been skeptical. Please PM me with the answer.