Research support under various federal proposals.

Abstract

ONE OF THE great expectations of the 103rd Congress was that significant health care legislation would be passed and ensure universal coverage for all citizens of the United States of America. Beginning with the day that President Clinton was elected, a tremendous emphasis was placed on the need for health care reform. Preliminary strategy sessions were held, and expert advice was sought from several disciplines, including health care administration, academic medicine, private medical practice, basic science, and the federal government. It was fully expected that a major achievement of Congress and the administration would be the enactment of legislation that would fundamentally alter the clinical practice of medicine and the performance of basic biomedical research. Unfortunately, as deliberations progressed, the plans for the mission faltered because of partisan politics, the demands of special interest groups and recipients of entitlement programs, and the realization that universal health care would place an