Why 'Hillarycare' failed & how the presidential candidate has changed her reform outlook

More than two decades ago, Hillary Clinton proposed an ambitious healthcare reform bill that aimed to completely reshape the U.S. healthcare system. However, her plan and its big theories failed with leading politicians imploring her to forgo her comprehensive plan, according to The New York Times.

In 1993, Hillary Clinton met with Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich about her healthcare reform bill. With an extensive knowledge of healthcare reform, Mr. Gingrich told Hillary Clinton she wouldn't be able to pass her plan, and she should instead focus on small reforms each year. Mr. Gingrich told The New York Times, "It will fall of its own weight ... She listened to us carefully and promptly went off and did whatever she wanted to." Sticking to her plan, Ms. Clinton presented a 1,342 healthcare reform proposal which included a universal healthcare system.

Her proposal was met with fierce opposition from conservatives and healthcare industry leaders alike. The proposal failed, never receiving a floor vote in the House or Senate. The following year, Republicans won a majority in the House and Mr. Gingrich became the speaker in 1995.

Elected into the U.S. Senate in 2000, Hillary Clinton exercised caution and bipartisanship, working with Republicans rather than against them. Her eye is now set on the presidency, and Hillary Clinton is using her past to form her healthcare reform plan.

Rather than completely dismantling the Affordable Care Act, Hillary Clinton wants to build upon President Obama's healthcare law. She supports the addition of a public option and also wants to allow some working Americans to buy into Medicare. Her former congressional liasion told The New York Times, "What she (Clinton) doesn't believe at this moment in time is that we can or should just start all over again."

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