Health Security
Health Security for All Americans
Speech
By: William Jefferson Clinton
Date: September 22, 1993
Source: Clinton, William Jefferson. "Health Security for All Americans." September 22, 1993. Available at <http://www.ibiblio.org/nhs/supporting/remarks.htm l> (accessed June 10, 2006).
About the Author: William Jefferson Clinton (1946–) was the forty-second president of the United States. He held office from 1993 to 2001. Early in his first term as president, he proposed the Health Security Act, which failed.
INTRODUCTION
In 1993, President Bill Clinton proposed a program of sweeping health-care reforms and suggested the creation of a system of universal health-care coverage for all people living in the United States of America. The plan was met with considerable public enthusiasm but little political approval. There was significant buzz in the political and health-care arenas suggesting that the time was right for major changes in the American third-party-payer system, notably making certain that all of the people in the country would have access to free or affordable health care coverage. Numerous public-interest and lobbying groups had suggested plans for health-care reform, and the concept of universal coverage (assuring free or affordable health-care coverage for every person in America) or mandated coverage (requiring that all persons be able to purchase affordable health-care insurance, no matter what their level of employment or degree of personal financial stability) was publicly endorsed by both the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) and the American Medical Association (AMA). Many of the country's largest employers and biggest businesses, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, voiced their support of employer-mandated insurance (all employers would have to provide health coverage to every employee, regardless of degree or level of employment).
During the early 1990s, a number of health-care reforms were suggested, and many bills
Speech
By: William Jefferson Clinton
Date: September 22, 1993
Source: Clinton, William Jefferson. "Health Security for All Americans." September 22, 1993. Available at <http://www.ibiblio.org/nhs/supporting/remarks.htm l> (accessed June 10, 2006).
About the Author: William Jefferson Clinton (1946–) was the forty-second president of the United States. He held office from 1993 to 2001. Early in his first term as president, he proposed the Health Security Act, which failed.
INTRODUCTION
In 1993, President Bill Clinton proposed a program of sweeping health-care reforms and suggested the creation of a system of universal health-care coverage for all people living in the United States of America. The plan was met with considerable public enthusiasm but little political approval. There was significant buzz in the political and health-care arenas suggesting that the time was right for major changes in the American third-party-payer system, notably making certain that all of the people in the country would have access to free or affordable health care coverage. Numerous public-interest and lobbying groups had suggested plans for health-care reform, and the concept of universal coverage (assuring free or affordable health-care coverage for every person in America) or mandated coverage (requiring that all persons be able to purchase affordable health-care insurance, no matter what their level of employment or degree of personal financial stability) was publicly endorsed by both the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) and the American Medical Association (AMA). Many of the country's largest employers and biggest businesses, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, voiced their support of employer-mandated insurance (all employers would have to provide health coverage to every employee, regardless of degree or level of employment).
During the early 1990s, a number of health-care reforms were suggested, and many bills