Hillary and The Children's Defense Fund

[BayCityProgressive]

One positive thing about Hillary is here advocacy work with the Childrens Defense Fund. Among the things they advocate is extended food programs, lifting every child from poverty, universal pre-school, universal healthcare. Hillary and Marian (the founder) have been very close. A little known fact about Hillary, when the GOP sent Clinton their "welfare reform bill" they knew that they had to pass something or Dole would defeat him. Hillary forced some of the most reactionary leg. out of the bill and has advocated extending welfare in her time in the senate. I think at heartHillary would like to see big changes like her plan for universal healthcare that failed. I think after that failure she has become too nervous to go for any big goals. I hope she gets some of her idealism back....

http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer

[John Q. Citizen]

1. Unfortunately, her healthcare plan wasn't very good from a progessive view point,

and she took so long to put together a poor plan that it was doomed anyway.

Kind of a day late and a dollar short, so to speak.

[BayCityProgressive]

2. She originally wanted single-payer care,

however senators told her they would not support it. She had to compromise.

[John Q. Citizen]

3. I never heard that. Do you have a link to something I can read up on about that?

[Adelante]

4. That's how I remember it nt

[John Q. Citizen]

5. Perhaps this will refresh your memory....

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1503

Extra! January/February 1994

When "Both Sides" Aren't Enough: The Restricted Debate Over Health Care Reform

By John Canham-Clyne


Journalists pride themselves on presenting "both sides" of a story. But if establishment media can decide which positions get to take part in debate, then telling "both sides" may be a way of keeping news consumers on the outside.

Coverage of the health care reform debate provides a wealth of examples. Major news outlets go out of their way to avoid mentioning the progressive alternative to the Clinton health care program: a Canadian-style single-payer reform, which would replace private insurance with tax-financed comprehensive universal coverage.

Hillary vs. Insurers

In November, major media focused on the White House-promoted story of "Hillary Rodham Clinton vs. the Insurance Industry." "The First Lady came out swinging, visibly angry as she took on the health insurance industry," said ABC's John McWethy (11/1/93). "Hillary Clinton Accuses Insurers of Lying About Health Proposal," blared a front-page New York Times headline (11/2/93); the Washington Post's followed suit (11/2/93) with "First Lady Lambastes Health Insurers." CNN's Bob Cain (11/3/93) declared that the Clinton administration was "engaged in something close to an all-out war with the health insurance industry."

These stories referred to Rodham Clinton's attack on a $6 million advertising campaign by the Health Insurance Association of America challenging the Clinton plan. What the news outlets didn't mention is that the "Big Five" insurance companies--Aetna, Cigna, Prudential, Metropolitan Life and Traveler's--have withdrawn from HIAA and are generally supportive of the Clintons' health policies. These companies have invested aggressively in Health Maintenance Organizations and other managed care networks, which stand to expand dramatically under the Clinton "managed competition" plan. The "managed competition" theory, in fact, was cooked up by executives of the Big Five and other medical industry leaders in annual meetings held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The Times' Adam Clymer equated HIAA with the "insurance industry" throughout his piece--a particularly egregious error, given that the Times had earlier (2/28/93) run a detailed report on the Jackson Hole Group. The Post's Dana Priest hinted at reality, describing HIAA as a "trade group of mainly medium-sized firms," and later saying that the group "represents 270 medium-and small-sized insurers, many of whom could be put out of business by reform." Insiders will recognize this as a reference to the fact that big insurers stand to profit greatly from the Clinton plan; other readers will remain in the dark.

more.....

When i didn't get a response or a link back from Bay City, I decided to do it myself. What I found on google is that there is no mention at all that Hillary ever intended or tried to get a single payer system. Just the opposite in fact. This is also how I remember it, and I was very active in Health Care Reform in those days, so i was really paying attention.