David asks:
is a better tick-tock of the congressional and political process of the 1994 health reforms than anyone else has produced. It's full of great stories that fluently convey the congressional politics of the time. In particular, Ive always loved the passage in which then-Senator John Breaux is stopped in the airport by an old woman. "Don't let the government get its hands on my Medicare," begs the old lady. Without missing a beat, Breaux replies, "don't worry, ma'am, I won't."That said, analytically, it falls down. It's not good on policy or theory. It doesn't make judgments, or leave you with a sharp grasp of the ideas at the core of the process. Read Brad DeLong's review of the book, and reflection of his own experiences in health reform, for more on that.If you're looking for an analytical take on the Clinton wars, start with Jacob Hacker's book The Road to Nowhere
, which is indispensable, and Theda Skocpol's book Boomerang: Health Care Reform and the Turn Against Government
. And if you want to learn more about the lessons of 1994 but don't want to read a whole book on it, read this article.
I've been wondering this for a while. Have you read David Broder's book on the Clinton Healthcare plan and is it any good? My (well-founded) prejudice would be to dismiss it as Broderish nonsense, probably containing an analysis to focused on people and their character and not enough about institutions etc. But I figured you would be well-placed to judge its merit if you have read the book.There is some Broderish evenhandedness in there. Most of the book follows the path of the Clinton health reforms, and their failure. The end of the book follows Newt Gingrich's attempts to cut Medicare, and their failure. These two things are presented as much the same thing: Health care policies failing. It's sort of weird. That said, the book is quite good, it's just not complete. The System
is a better tick-tock of the congressional and political process of the 1994 health reforms than anyone else has produced. It's full of great stories that fluently convey the congressional politics of the time. In particular, Ive always loved the passage in which then-Senator John Breaux is stopped in the airport by an old woman. "Don't let the government get its hands on my Medicare," begs the old lady. Without missing a beat, Breaux replies, "don't worry, ma'am, I won't."That said, analytically, it falls down. It's not good on policy or theory. It doesn't make judgments, or leave you with a sharp grasp of the ideas at the core of the process. Read Brad DeLong's review of the book, and reflection of his own experiences in health reform, for more on that.If you're looking for an analytical take on the Clinton wars, start with Jacob Hacker's book The Road to Nowhere, which is indispensable, and Theda Skocpol's book Boomerang: Health Care Reform and the Turn Against Government. And if you want to learn more about the lessons of 1994 but don't want to read a whole book on it, read this article. 
