Democratic Leaders Move Away from Clinton's Health Care Plan

Democratic congressional leaders have informed President Clinton that they will move forward with their own plans for health care reform, rather than implementing his original proposal. This decision comes after weeks of closed meetings between the leaders, who aim to retain the goal of universal coverage for all Americans. The president had previously stated that he would not abandon his commitment to universal coverage, but recent remarks suggesting otherwise have sparked concern among lawmakers.

Key Takeaways:

• Democratic congressional leaders have decided to move away from Clinton's original health care plan and create their own proposals.
• The leaders aim to retain the goal of universal coverage for all Americans, but propose different approaches to achieving this objective.
• President Clinton had previously stated that he would not abandon his commitment to universal coverage.
• The House and Senate have held at least a dozen events to call attention to concerns about health care reform.
• Senators Wellstone, Simon, and Metzenbaum proposed holding a lottery to determine who should go without coverage if the Senate fails to guarantee the same coverage for Americans.
• Big business, represented by the CEOs of 50 large corporations, endorsed the argument that an employer mandate is the only way to guarantee health coverage for all Americans.
• There is no clear majority for any current health care plan, with many proposals having different elements and complexities.

Statistics:

• 12 events held by the House and Senate to address concerns about health care reform.
• 50 CEOs of large corporations endorsed the argument for an employer mandate to guarantee health coverage.
• No clear majority for any current health care plan.
• At least a dozen closed meetings between Democratic congressional leaders to discuss health care reform.

Sources:

• NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports
• Democratic Senators Wellstone, Simon, and Metzenbaum
• Andrew Card, former secretary of transportation under President Bush
• Mitchell Fromstein, CEO of Manpower, Incorporated
• Angie's Notebook
• Robert's Rules of Order Annotated (1999 edition)