This case is a summary of the high-profile failure of the Clinton administration's initiative to restructure the U.S. health care and health insurance system to provide universal coverage, while at the same time, cost control. The case traces the origins of the reform momentum and describes the structure and supply of health care administration task force, chaired by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and director Ira Magaziner. The case focuses, however, on the extent and nature of the opposition to the plan, in particular, the business community, implicitly raising questions about how the administration could have handled matters differently, and what factors the substance or tactics, or both allowed the opposition to be successful. The fact is, vehicles, also, to discuss business relations in the U.S. government, through its attention to both the nature of the U.S. health insurance system (mostly related to private employment) and various business and interest groups in the U.S. private sector. HKS Case Number 1600.0 "Hide
by Esther Scott, Roger Porter 21 pages. Publication Date: November 1, 2000. Prod. #: HKS069-PDF-ENG
