Learning from Failure in Health Care Reform

Abstract

Jonathan Oberlander writes that just a year after its introduction in September 1993, the Clinton Health Security Act was dead in Congress. What happened to the Clinton plan, and what lessons can today's reformers learn from its failure? Jonathan Oberlander discusses the pitfalls of the Clinton health care plan of 1993, the obstacles to reforming the U.S. health care system, and the outlook for the future. Dr. Oberlander is an associate professor of social medicine and of health policy and administration at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.